text:
Things She Could Never Have
by Tehmina Khan
Faithful and Other Stories
by Daniel Karasik
Daniel Karasik's debut story collection opens with a taut chamber piece that barely fills five pages, and closes with a story – spanning 80 pages, multiple narrators, and several decades – that could easily be branded a novella. Both concern the ravages of time on the human heart and the invincibility of hunger for love regardless of conditions. Here and elsewhere in this collection, Karasik demonstrates vigour, wit, and ambition.
That arresting opener is aptly titled "Mine." It is at once a story of possession, a bold exercise in brevity, and the staking of a claim for its author. The story delivers a bracing twist on dementia via prose that is ferociously polished, if a little overwrought. By contrast, "Witness," winner of the Jack Hodgins Founders' Award for Fiction, is steeped in irony. The story deploys oneiric, Kafkaesque scenarios involving animals, violence, and inexplicable incarceration as a way of exploring an aspiring writer's existential crisis. The story witnesses little outside the perimeters of the narrator's anxiety.
In the excellent "A Much-Loved Teacher," a young man mistakes an accident victim for one of his former teachers; he contacts the teacher and finds himself submitting to an intimacy he considers instantly uncomfortable. The story is very good at dramatizing the way some people carry a veneer of mystery no matter how transparent they try to be, while others project a friendliness that disguises a deep-seated unease with social contracts.
Faithful's strongest selection is its title story, which seems to aspire to Alice Munro territory, leaping across swaths of time and lighting upon hinges in the trajectory of a strange, unmoored existence. There are missteps: Karasik makes the curious choice to combine third-person and first-person narration, there's a precarious tendency to use mentally ill women as plot devices, and not every turn is believable. But there are moments – a reunion with an estranged brother; instances of connection between a woman and the adolescent sibling she's just met – that are hushed and exquisitely knotty.
Some stories wither in the heat of Karasik's enthusiasm for effects. Others – the ones that breathe, whose investment in character equals their investment in sentences – suggest that Karasik, already established as a poet and playwright, likely has a strong novel in him, so long as his tendency to lean on a certain urbane, privileged milieu doesn't constrain his formidable imagination.
One thing that can be said for most of the stories in Faithful is that they surprise. The characters surprise themselves (and us); their circumstances challenge them (and us); no story begins in a way that makes the outcome feel determined or schematic. This cannot be said for the stories in Tehmina Khan's debut collection, Things She Could Never Have, which are mostly set in the author's native Pakistan. Khan's characters are too often neatly divided into victims and victimizers; character development typically begins and ends with indications of one's marginalized status, whether that be a matter of gender, class, or sexuality.
In "Whisperings of the Devil," a poor woman works as a housekeeper for a rich family. The employer is characterized as shallow and obsessed with Facebook, the housekeeper as very salt-of-the-earth. A precious piece of jewellery goes missing and the employer assumes the housekeeper stole it, so she fires the housekeeper and tragedy ensues. The reader knows exactly where this is going. ("Whisperings" also features a simile – "The kitchen was hot as a tandoori oven" — that brings to mind the image of Naben Ruthnum banging his head against a wall.)
Khan's stories strive to grapple with some of the most urgent issues of our time, such as young people who are drawn toward radical Islam and terror. However, this ambition isn't accompanied by any fresh insights into the psychology of radicalization, and several stories feature suicide bombings that do little more than inject easy drama.
What resonates far more are the stories in which Khan considers less overtly fraught crises. "The First" is an evocative portrait of complicated female friendship, while in "Closed Doors," a young couple measures the effect of their first pregnancy on their professional lives and family dynamics. The story ends with a gesture toward renewed understanding that's elegant and understated.
While too many stories in Things She Could Never Have simply confirm static notions about power and fairness, some, like "Closed Doors," show a sober belief in an individual's capacity for change, however small the change may be. The weaker stories serve as a reminder that acknowledgement is not the same as empathy; anyone can write a story about, say, a transgendered character in a hostile environment, but to honour that character means imbuing them with complexity and challenging received assumptions.
Reviewer: José Teodoro
Publisher: Mawenzi House
Released: Oct.
Issue Date: January 2018
Categories: Fiction: Short
Publisher: Guernica Editions
Issue Date: January 1, 2018

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Review: Apollo's Song (Manga)
Medium: Manga (1 volume)
Genres: Drama, Romance
Author: Osamu Tezuka
Publishers: Shōnen Gahōsha (JPN), Vertical Inc. (NA/UK)
Release Dates: 1970 (JPN), 2007, re-release in 2010 (NA/UK)
Age Rating: 16+
Given that the main focus of Apollo's Song is love and all the strife that results, I could get away with writing a "Love is a crazy thing, isn't it?" type of intro for this review. But I won't, because the manga does a much better job of doing that in its own introduction, which shows anthropomorphized sperm in a marathon race to reach the egg. That probably sounds absurd, but the reverence shown to love and procreation comes through the page, letting you know you are reading something rather special.
The main character of Apollo's Song is Shogo Chikaishi, a teenage boy who is brought in to a psychiatric hospital with a rather bizarre malady that is the focus of much of the story. You see, Shogo hates the concept of love. He is incapable of feeling it himself, and the mere sight of love or affection of any kind disgusts him so thoroughly that he feels an unstoppable urge to kill those involved, be they human or animal.
The doctor who takes Shogo on as a patient is rather troubled by this and so decides that a suite of tests and treatments are in order, including a terrifying session of electroconvulsive therapy. It is during this therapy that Apollo's Song introduces it's key element that sets it far apart — the Goddess. Taking the form of a massive female statue she scolds Shogo for his hatred of love and forces him to confront the root of his problem. Then, as a punishment for his transgressions against the sanctity of love, Shogo is condemned to a never-ending series of trials — over and over he must come to know love, but every time it is within his grasp it will be snatched away from him. The more cynical among those reading probably just laughed and yelled "Oh, just like real life then!" out loud.
What follows this proclamation is a series of discrete tales that follow the template that the goddess outlines — each time, Shogo comes close to being cured but is ultimately thwarted, usually in a harrowing fashion. You would think this pattern would get dull, but there is another facet to the story; you are never fully sure what is "real", or what is a dream, a hypnotic suggestion, or even if Shogo is actually dead or alive for the majority of the manga. The different trials Shogo experiences also have their own back-story and love stories within them, further muddying the waters about what is taking place in reality and what is confined to his imagination. Even the ending of the story is wonderfully ambiguous and ends on a rather depressing note for Shogo, but leaves it up to the reader to decide what the ending entails.
I am a massive fan of this sort of reality-bending fiction and so Apollo's Song scores lots of points with me, enough to make me overlook some of its nagging flaws. The biggest among these is the repetition of the individual stories within the overall plot arc — as mentioned before, they all follow the exact pattern that the Goddess outlines. In addition, some of the stories are instantly forgettable, and even on my fifth reading I am confronted with entire chapters I had completely forgotten and am beginning to forget even as I write this review. Another, more egregious issue is that Shogo himself is an unpleasant dick who keeps undoing his own character development. While this can be seen as a normal human character flaw, especially for someone as seriously ill as he is, it can become exasperating after he fails to even attempt to reform himself for the umpteenth time in the face of great pressure to do so.
This frustration with Shogo is eased by getting know him through the art, with all emotions laid bare on the page for you to see and feel as you read. Simply put, the facial expressions and body language in the manga are among the best I have seen. At one key moment in the story an entire page is set aside at time for a single facial expression of sorrow — a powerful moment hammered home by a very simply presented image. The rest of the art (especially the layout) is equally superb, with many nice touches and unique pages added to keep you interested. The emotional highs and lows (mostly lows, in this case) are wonderfully captured on the page, with each moment given time to breathe over multiple pages and clear layouts to heighten the impact. The main triumph of the art is that each separate story told within the overarching plot looks and feels like its own separate series. You can tell from a glance what the setting feels like and how it differs from every other story presented in the manga.
While I pointed out some flaws earlier in this review that may sound like deal-breakers to some, I am still a fan of Apollo's Song due to how much it rewards revisiting. While not a short book by any stretch of the imagination, the story is just the right size to pick up and read for the hell of it without without the investment of time that MW or Ode to Kirihito demand. Due to its very powerful message and reality-bending storyline, each reading can give you something new to chew on.
I have read this story in a multitude of personal states and attitudes towards love — while happily in a relationship, in a failing relationship, and shortly after a break-up, and each time it has given me something new to think about and an uplifting feeling despite its grim storyline.
[Recommended]
This review is based on a retail copy purchased by the reviewer.
Apollo's Song
Shonen Gashosha
Vertical Inc.
Review: Black Jack, vols.1-9 (Manga)
Review: Weekly Astro Boy Magazine (iPhone App)
Review: Battle Angel Alita, vol. 1-2 (Manga)
Wednesday, Apr 21, 2010
Review: Pita-Ten vol. 1-7 (Manga)
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but i think the uplaod file something like .js i think you have to host it offsite somewhere like freewebs and link it, but i dont mess with it, that is for styles i think.
Not in the portal, on FF in the ACP, you could assign what ext. files that could be open on the forum.
For example you could open a Word document and if I remember correctly, the ext. file was doc.
The mod exist for phpBB, I just have to find it and see if it can be installed on forumotion.
they are scared of copyright.
Here is my PM and his reply.
Caihlem Sun 19 Aug à 7:44 Topic: Re: Gooday to you.
However, nothing blocks you from making your own site and linking it to your forum What does he mean by that?
dero Sat 18 Aug à 18:39 Topic: Gooday to you.
I was told you may be able to help me,or direct me in the right direction.
I was wondering if on forumotion you can add a hack that allows certain file.extensions.
as we use GPS mappig programms it would be nice and funtional, if that could be implemented in the ACP.


#TVisCOOL: Incredible singer, sounds just like Freddie Mercury!
Incredible singer, sounds just like Freddie Mercury!
Person: "Anyone ever tell you you sound like that guy from Queen?"
Me: "No. Never have I ever heard that in my life. Ever."


I sit here staring out my office window at the bare trees swaying in the cold wind that foretells winter.
Rather than fret about the upcoming snow and ice and down-to-the-bone bitterness, I'm surprised at how peaceful I feel with the changing season. After all, I've never been a big fan of winter.
God knows I've spent plenty of time resisting.
Not as much anymore. As I think about my life, I have such appreciation for the gift of experience – our greatest teacher.
With enough years under my belt, I realize that so many of the things I used to worry about no longer hold the same weight. As hard as loss is, I know I can survive the pain. As much as I'd like to think I can control life, I'm learning to soften and accept the things I can't change. And I've come to understand that every rejection really is God's protection. The friend who chose a different path or the exciting project that fell through were simply life's way of steering me toward something better.
I'm also grateful to realize that I've amassed enough history to know that 95% of the worst-case scenario movies I produced in my head never hit the big screen of life. I now catch myself in preproduction and change the storyline .
It feels good to notice these changes, to name the benefits of growing older. Because there are many – solid trust in my intuition, wise discernment about people and opportunities, and the ease with which the word "no" tumbles from my lips.
It's true. Saying no really does get a lot easier with age.
P.S. – Please consider giving a copy of Waking Up in Winter: In Search of What Really Matters at Midlife, to those loved ones who are in transition and want to know they're not alone. You can learn more, here.
P.S.S. – There will be no Facebook Live this week. You can watch past sessions on my YouTube channel at CherylRichardsonTV here.


text:
A Traveler's Guide to Botswana: Where and When to Travel
Botswana. A landscape filled with a vast wilderness of grassy plains teeming with wildlife whilst winding waterways stir with pods of hippos and Nile crocodiles lurking in the shadows, waiting on their next meal to arrive. Our traveler's guide to Botswana provides insight as to why this country is recognized internationally. It is without a doubt that Botswana is considered a top safari destination in Africa, with a good standing reputation amongst travelers as the ultimate place to experience an authentic African safari. Unlike many other safari destinations, Botswana provides an experience that feels very private. Many lodges and camps are located within remote concessions of Botswana, particularly in the south, where light aircraft are the only accessible means of transportation. An adventure in Botswana generally starts from the city of Maun, flying low over the vast open plains, lush woodlands and waterholes that attract an abundance of wildlife in the heat of the day. This flight is the perfect start to what is sure to be a thrilling safari experience.Botswana is home to an array of outstanding game reserves but the most popular safari destinations are: Chobe National Park, Moremi Game Reserve, Okavango Delta and the Central Kalahari Game Reserve. As with any destination in the world, it can be difficult to work out which destinations are best to travel to at which times. This is especially true in Botswana where the indistinctive seasons can be somewhat confusing.Not to worry though, as Africa safari experts we're here to help you find the perfect fit. Here is our breakdown of these top safari destinations in Botswana, and when to go."
A Guide to Botswana: Chobe National Park
Elephants enjoying a refreshing swim in the Chobe River.Chobe National Park takes its name from the mighty Chobe River which forms the northern boundary of the park and is Botswana's second largest park. The Chobe riverfront is a wildlife enthusiasts dream, offering some of the most incredible game viewing and photographic opportunities. During the dry season months of May to September, game viewing is regarded to be at its best with large herds of buffalo and elephant congregating along the banks of the Chobe River; the only place in Africa where the largest concentration of elephant can be seen. June, July, and August are particularly some of the best months to visit Chobe National Park as the vegetation is dense and wildlife is abundant. The only challenge to face is the somewhat chilly mornings, particularly on game drives.The diverse park is also famous for its boat safaris and is renowned as a top class birding destination with over 450 species recorded. Most of the bird species are seen during the summer migratory months of October through March, which is the best time for keen birders to plan their visit. Chobe National park includes the Savuti Marsh. Savuti is 5-6 hours south of the Chobe River Front and is most famous for its buffalo herds, wild dog, and big cat sightings; particularly during the drier months when sources of water are limited.
A Guide to Botswana: Best time to visit Chobe National Park
Chobe National Park is an attractive safari destination with no 'poor' game viewing months noted throughout the year, however, during the dry season months the park can feel somewhat overcrowded. Game drives are conducted in open-sided 4x4 vehicles and led by professional guides.
A Guide to Botswana: Moremi Game Reserve
Moremi Game Reserve forms part of the east and central areas of the Okavango Delta and changes dramatically with the seasons. The constant changing colors, broad skies, majestic sunsets and Big Five game viewing are all part of the package when visiting the reserve.
Up-close encounters with elephants in the Moremi Game Reserve.Combining 5000 square kilometers of permanent water and dry land, Moremi Game Reserve provides a diverse vegetation for an abundance of wildlife. The reserve offers the opportunity to explore in 4x4 safari vehicles, on foot and by mokoro - a traditional dugout canoe. A safari experience in the northern parts of the Moremi Game Reserve is particularly good in the dry season months of April to October, however, game viewing is generally at its peak from July to October, when seasonal pans dry up and the wildlife concentrates on the permanent water. The month of August is traditionally an exceptional month for wildlife sightings with the dry season in full swing, but be prepared for surprisingly chilly temperatures on the early morning game drives. From October until the start of the rains in late November or early December, the weather can be extremely hot. The wet season months of November to March are not necessarily the best game viewing months but offer sensational birding watching and is the season where travelers have the opportunity to see newborn animals. Over 400 species of bird have been recorded in Moremi Game Reserve and the wet season is the best time to view the migrant species. It is during these months that many of the birds nest or rear their young. It is important to note that although travel during the months of January to March can be rewarding, there is a high chance of rainfall which can be continuous for days, impacting your game viewing experience.
A Guide to Botswana: Best time to visit Moremi Game Reserve
Moremi Game Reserve is the perfect place to tick off the Big Five and experience the thrill of a walking safari which is led by an armed guide.
A Guide to Botswana: Okavango Delta
The Okavango Delta is one of the world's most celebrated safari destinations; a vast inland river delta in northern Botswana. Unique and ever-changing, it's no surprise that the Okavango Delta is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Delta is made up of more than 150 000 islands across 16 000 square kilometers of nearly flat land. This untamed wilderness is fed by the Okavango River, forming several canals which are perfect for a mokoro trip. A mokoro is a traditional dugout canoe that is unique to Botswana and is a truly blissful experience.
Unique mokoro trips in the winding channels of the Okavango Delta.The wildlife concentration is not as prolific as the likes of Chobe National Park and Moremi Game Reserve, but this remarkable destination is visited by travelers across the world for the experience of complete isolation and the serene nature. That said, June to August is when the floods arrive and the high waters do attract many animals and it is the best time to experience a boating and mokoro safari. The wildlife encounters in the Delta are usually up-close, providing the opportunity for some fantastic photography.The location of each lodge/camp within the various private concessions determines which activities are possible. Some are land only camps, others are water only camps and a select few are combination camps; offering both land and water activities. We always recommended that you spend four nights in the Delta to experience both a land and water camp, or spend your time at one or multiple combination camps. From October until the start of the rains in late November or early December, the weather can be extremely hot. It is important to note that although travel during the months of January to March can be rewarding, offering the opportunity to see newborn animals, there is a high chance of rainfall which can limit access to many lodges/camps. Some lodges/camps close during this period.November to April sees the Okavango Delta transform into a sensational bird watching destination. There are 490 species of bird to be seen in the Okavango Delta.
A Guide to Botswana: Best time to visit Okavango Delta
A safari experience in the Okavango Delta is not complete if you have not ventured out on a game drive, a boating safari, a mokoro safari and a walking safari.
A Guide to Botswana: Central Kalahari Game Reserve
The Central Kalahari Game Reserve in Botswana is the second-largest game reserve in the world; 5 million hectares of pristine wilderness that stretches from the northern area of South Africa, through Namibia and Angola, and all the way up to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Walking with San bushmen is a captivating experience to be had in Botswana.The Kalahari is often overlooked by many travelers and is best described as a remote wilderness with harsh terrain and an unforgiving climate. Although often perceived by many as just a desert, the Kalahari has a wide variety of habitats: sand dunes with many species of trees in the north, flat bushveld in the central area, mopane forests to the south and east, wide grasslands in vast open plains, acacia trees forests, saltpans and ancient riverbeds. The attraction to the Kalahari is the San Bushmen and the phenomenal game viewing. Activities in Central Kalahari Game Reserve includes game drives, nature walking safaris, bird watching and cultural tours.With only fourteen known San Bushmen groups left in Africa, the southern group living in the Kalahari is Khomani San and is the last remnant of the extensive indigenous San of South Africa.The wildlife is generally found in the northern region of the Kalahari, and unlike any other reserve in Botswana, the best game viewing is during the rainy season months of December to April when animals migrate to the lush grasslands of the "green desert". You can expect to see wild dog, leopard, lion, hyena, a wide variety of antelope and plenty of birds. Travelers will too be astounded by the masses of migrating herds of zebra and antelope that arrive to give birth. Predators abound with plentiful lions – especially the famous Kalahari black-maned lion, cheetah, leopard and black-backed jackals.The dry season months of May to November are hot, dry and dusty so although game viewing is still good, fewer animals are seen in these harsh conditions with no permanent surface water. Temperatures are high during the day and very cold at night. The dry season is the perfect time to interact with the San Bushmen people.
A Guide to Botswana: Best time to visit Central Kalahari
Escape to the Kalahari for a cultural safari experience with the Kalahari Bushmen who provide insights into the unique and extraordinary culture of these fascinating people.A safari in Botswana is ideal for solo explorers, multi-generation family vacations and couples seeking a private romantic getaway. Having read our guide to Botswana, why not get in touch with one of our Safari Experts to tailor make your very own trip to Botswana. There are so many exciting places to consider, so let us help you find that perfect African vacation.


text:
FutureFiveNew Zealand
Consumer technology news from the future
Kai Ping Lew
Last year, Apple launched it's 'Pro' line of iPhones, promising a new level of differentiation to the range of mobile devices already squarely positioned in the luxury category.
In a nutshell, the improvements the Pro range boasted were in its camera system, battery life, and increased performance – as Apple touts, "the first iPhone powerful enough to be called Pro".
We got the opportunity to review the iPhone 11 Pro Max - here's my take on whether the Pro moniker is deserved.
The iPhone 11 Pro Max is matte glass on the back and stainless steel down the sides. My take on it is that it's too pretty to be enclosed in a case – which gives people around me anxiety.
For the size of my hands, I find that adding a case to the iPhone 11 Pro Max made it a tad too bulky and heavy for my liking. I liked that matte glass back didn't collect fingerprints, supporting my no-case, living life on the edge habit, while also being functional and supporting wireless charging with Qi-certified mats.
Aside from that, the core design of the 11 Pro Max hasn't changed much with its notch and edge-to-edge screens.
The iPhone 11 Pro Max has a Super Retina XDR Display, with up to 800 nits of peak brightness outdoors, and 1200 nits when watching Dolby Vision movies.
I found it sharp enough and bright enough that I actually enjoyed watching tv shows (especially anime) on it, and playing casual games was an experience that was much improved by the sheer quality of the display.
We've all seen the memes of the triangular triple camera placement on the new Pro iPhones, and yes, they're distinct and can be spotted from a mile away.
Before you judge the three cameras as being too extra, I'm here to tell you that they're worth it. The Ultra Wide, Wide, and Telephoto lenses give you a lot more flexibility to shoot – we've all had the problem of not being able to move back far enough to frame our subject the way we wanted to.
The 11 Pro Max also boasts improved low-light performance, capturing more data than before. Night mode turns on automatically, capturing multiple images and fusing them for brighter images with natural colours and more details.
Another area where the improved camera really made itself felt was in video capture – the video stabilisation made my footage smooth even when filming while walking on uneven surfaces.
Apple also improved the interface of its camera app, intuitively switching between the cameras, allowing you to look outside the frame and take videos in a more seamless manner.
For me, the battery life on the Max iPhones have always been the most convincing reason to get them.
The iPhone 11 Pro Max features a more efficient OLED material on the display that extends its battery life – to the point that I got used to being able to go two days without having to charge the device. This came in especially handy on those multi-day camping trips in the summer.
The iPhone 11 Pro Max has an A13 chip, designed for machine learning. Apple says the A13 Bionic has 2 performance cores that are up to 20 percent faster and user up to 30 percent less power that its predecessor, the A12 bionic chip.
The clearest manifestation of this is the speed at which FaceID recognises and authorises a user – with the 11 Pro Max, it verifies you in a blink of an eye, and the speed is noticeable even compared to its predecessor, the iPhone XS Max.
App switching was breezy and smooth, with apps performing at the speed of thought.
The iPhone 11 Pro Max is an extremely powerful device and performs in all the ways I hoped it would.
Should you buy it over other cheaper Android devices?
That depends on how invested you are in the Apple ecosystem, how much you value customisability over security, and how much you need the features to be at the level of sophistication you're paying for.
To say that the iPhone 11 Pro Max is not a cheap phone is a huge understatement. In New Zealand, the RRP for the 64GB model is $2,149 and for the 512GB model, it's $2,849.
But if you treat buying phones like an investment, the 11 Pro Max is one of the most worthwhile in the market at the moment.
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text:
Home Engagement
City Mission | 25 July 2021
Auckland City Mission and St Matthew's
City Missioner Helen Robinson speaks about the history of the relationship between the City Mission and St Matthew's which goes back 100 years.
Helen Robinson
Te Pouhere Sunday
Reflecting on the music written for Lent
Agents for Life
Being a prophet
New Liturgical Robes for St Matthew-in-the-City
Facing death
Farewell Sermon
The Grand Piano
Good morning, everyone. What's a privilege? It is for me to be here today, in the first and in my role. As Auckland City Commissioner, I am the tenth and a line that takes us back. 101 years to Jesper. Calder himself. Chris Farrelly. My predecessor used to describe same mass as The Crucible of the mission. Out of this place, the mission was born and through that, the sense of connection and belonging between st. Mets. And the mission has been made or his ear and Robert Cohen, his Heir, Robert glibly. I can be a say that word has brought us together. Totally and utterly always I am very conscious that in this room. Today we have board members of commission. We have staff members, we have volunteers, we have funders, we have supporters queer and our midst. I'm very conscious that now. And for many many years has used to say Mets and spaces and places of place to hold events. And our relationship is varied, multiple rich, and whakapapa and history, layered generous and profound. It has, if I may Echo the words of the first readings with breathe height depth length, it's palpable. It's strong and it's alive. Arrow identity at its core is defined by who we belong to and say Mets and emission belong to each other. This is connection will be literally across the car park in the coming months during the week. I was told that we have just under 100 days until the 1st of November which is when Service delivery and home ground again. I counted up and preparation for today. And from today, it is 98 days until the 1st of November. When this extraordinary feat of a building, a symbol of generosity of people working together, a symbol of Hope of Daring to believe in the dreams of having courage and never giving up will open. This is and will be a magnificent building next door. Magnificent certainly because of the building and the architecture, but perhaps, even more, so magnificent because of the reason or the intent, for which it was built and what will happen on its anxiety. So the building includes 80 apartments for people, to be housed permanently two floors of a detox unit, a medical center more than double the size of what we currently have now including the dentist service. A beautiful rooftop Community rooms and spaces our service called hiya Hatta which wolf runs now with a team of people, we are a community center with 365 days. A year, we welcome of fun over and 41. Good hot meal. There will be a special room and home ground that has yet to be named but as sometimes called a quiet true. More fun. I room and we'll me akin to a chapel and should the occasion unfolds that will also be where our deed will claim? The breadth of the building takes us from Federal Street right through to Hobson Street. We are your neighbor and a 98 days. We really, really will be your neighbor. In fact, we returned to be next to you. I am and we are incredibly proud of the whakapapa the connection between st. Matt's in the mission that does link us together. Jesper called in the mission, since has existed to respond to the reality of desperation in our city. It's both an act of compassion and act of justice, but importantly today and active inclusion. The needs that we see whether it be the reality of people living without a home without access to enough, good food or access to good. Healthcare is only so, because we as a society have constructed it, There is a group of people who we say along and are worthy of inclusion and sadly an indictment on our community. There is a group of people who we say, we are not worthy and do not belong. And it holds a real mirror up to the soul of us as a people. And we start to ask ourselves some very, very difficult questions. Why is it that women in our country bear? The burden of poverty. Why is it that particularly woman raising children alone and Marty and Pacific woman? Particularly be their burden. Why is it that overwhelmingly? It is Marty who had been rendered homeless in their own land. Serious and Incredibly challenging questions that call us to wonder, who do we include? And who do we exclude And how can we move to a reality of inclusion of abundant and radical and total inclusion? I was quite moved today. When I saw that today's Gospel was about the reading or the feeding of the 5000. I have to acknowledge that, as a child, I genuinely believed Jesus had a magic wand and would take these byblos, and these two fish, and with this magic wand to produce enough food for everyone, A slightly older more mature reading taught me to actually reflect that. Another depth of the miracle that had happened. That day, is that each person, their the 5,000, the woman, and the children, each gave of what they could. And that each of us and giving what we can create, an abundance, we are all are free. Our feed, in fact, one of the The lines that I love and that gospel is about the Freedmen's that are left over. And in fact, even the fragments left over created 12 baskets. I could frame that. And another way to say that, that fragments left over creates many things including the building, that is worth 110 million dollars. When we started this five or six years ago, whoo, whoever would have thought that we could have done it. Many times over the last number of years, and in fact, even still, I feel more like Philip and the story, The One whose fears how are we going to do this? Whether that's about building this building and accessing the resources and again, perhaps more importantly, how will we the mission access the resources? We need to to feed the 17,000 families that will come to us. This is here for food. Those 17,000 families represent 48,000 food Parcels that we have distributed in the last year and we have no reason to think that it will be any less this year. I honestly often go home and feel like I don't know how we will do this. It's interesting slightly older. Now, when I read a third lens on that gospel and I read Allen's of inclusion and connection and belonging. What was the glue that helps that crowds together? and importantly, what created or grew their willingness to share until we all had been fed What made them aware of their shared responsibility? And there she had potential. What was the miracle and deeds that did occur that day? What helped them say that they belong to each other? Same axis, the mission. We Belong Together. I belong to you, you belong to me. We belong to each other.


text:
Spirit Stories: Cali Farquharson
by sambishopcws May 29, 2019
By Owen Krucoff
Washingtonspirit.com
Boyds, Md., (5/29/19) – Washington Spirit have been turning heads in the NWSL in the early part of this season thanks to an impressive run of results that has allowed them to already surpass their 2018 win and point totals.
While many have focused on the new additions to the team, such as the Spirit's five first-round draft picks and new head coach Richie Burke, the Spirit's old guard, the veteran leaders, have been just as influential in the Spirit's hot streak.
One of those veteran leaders is forward Cali Farquharson, who despite being drafted by the Spirit just three years ago, has found herself to be one of the most experienced players on this young Spirit team. Since she is only a few years removed from her own rookie season, she understands the importance of being a role model for her younger teammates.
"Now that I'm a veteran, I've been here a few years, I kind of know the ropes and I'm able to help the younger girls because I didn't necessarily have all the help I needed at their age," Farquharson said. "I had to learn a lot on my own, so I hope I can be a good mentor to them."
The Spirit drafted Farquharson out of Arizona State with the 12th overall pick in the 2016 NWSL Draft. Although she attended high school in Phoenix and remained in-state for college, she hasn't always been an Arizona native.
"I was born in Japan," Farquharson said. "Big military brat as a kid, lived in a couple of different countries growing up, but essentially, we had our home base in Arizona and I was raised in Arizona."
Now that Farquharson has played in the DMV for a few years, she has noticed some of the differences between the soccer environments of the D.C. area and the Grand Canyon State. One notable distinction is the disparity in youth participation between the two regions.
"I would say the DMV has more soccer opportunities, especially for the youth," Farquharson said. "In Arizona, there are one or two teams per age group and out here there are four or five [teams] per age group, and I think the competition out here is pretty elite especially with all the teams competing against each other."
Farquharson has been an important depth asset for this surging Spirit team. She has appeared in five of six matches so far, including two starts, and provided the game-winning assist in a 3-2 win over Sky Blue FC on May 11. A current three-game win streak has lifted the team into a tie for first in the NWSL standings, and Farquharson says the team atmosphere has been key to that success.
"I absolutely love all the girls, we all get along, everyone is very inclusive," Farquharson said. "It's just a great team environment on and off the field, and I'm super excited to be on this team this year."
The Spirit will look to continue their winning streak when they host Utah Royals FC in a battle for first place at the Maryland Soccerplex this Saturday. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. ET. [TICKETS]
Cali Farquharson
Washington Spirit Waive Three Players
El Washington Spirit firma a...


text:
16:39, 3 MAR 2019
Courteney CoxCourteney Cox recreates iconic Friends scene - and fans can't stop laughing
Courteney Cox recently joined Instagram and she's been spoiling Friends fans on her account with some brilliant content
FriendsCourteney Cox and Tom Selleck just had a mini Friends reunion - and fans are freaking out about it
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RedditStudent finds rare Lamborghini Countach and Ferrari 308 worth £300,000 in grandmother's GARAGE untouched for decades
Reddit user Eriegin found the 1980s supercars in the garage in an unknown spot in the US
Tom SelleckA picture of Mario without his moustache has been created and it's freaking people out
The portly video game plumber looks totally different without his facial fuzz
Eva LongoriaEva Longoria looks unrecognisable as she covers up for BBC's Decline And Fall
Hollywood actress, 42, plays mum Margot Beste-Chetwynde in the 1920s drama based on Evelyn Waugh's book
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The six main cast members weren't the only reason that viewers were hooked for a decade
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Barack ObamaMagnum P.I. mansion: Is Barack Obama the mystery buyer of TV show's Hawaiian house?The 11,000sq ft property - which featured in the hit 80s show - on Honolulu beach was sold for $8.7 million earlier this week
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Princess DianaThe night Princess Diana danced with John TravoltaKATE will be following in the footsteps of Princess Diana who went to the US with Prince Charles in 1985 – and danced with John Travolta at a dinner hosted by President Ronald Reagan.
Paris HiltonSo, here's Paris "scratching her face while dancing" - or doing a Hitler impression, depending on who you believeWe thought Nazi impressions went out of fashion in either, ooh, around 1945, or perhaps in 2005 when Prince Harry got in trouble - but Paris Hilton seems to be bringing them back, even if it is by accident (we have to say that bit for legal reasons).
Ted DansonSelleck confirms Three Men sequelTom Selleck has confirmed a third instalment of Three Men And A Baby is in the pipeline.
University ChallengePosh is so glamorous that she needs an op for her bunionsBeauty is pain, we tell ourselves every time we pluck at our Boyle-esque brow, desperately extract ourselves out of our Spanx to go for a wee and wax the Tom Selleck tribute from our upper lip. But none of the above are quite as painful as the affliction poor Posh is suffering from. Well, we say "poor Posh" but anyone who owns that many pairs of Louboutins doesn't get too much sympathy from us. It's a well-known fact (although possibly not the kind that might help you win University Challenge) that Victoria's been suffering from bunions for years thanks to her taste in killer heels - but now they've got so bad that she faces surgery to get rid of them. Ouch. "The Beckham household is all about feet at the moment," says a smugly able-footed friend. "David is having painkilling injections for bone bruising on his foot, while Victoria is in agony with her misshapen feet. She is suffering from shooting pain from the bunions. Normally, she kicks off her shoes in the house, but she has been out so much recently in high heels that she is really feeling it." So now, to avoid having to wear the dreaded ballet flats or - gasp! - trainers, Posh is doing special exercises to try and sooth her poorly tootsies, but it sounds like it won't be enough. "She puts up with the pain, but the doctor has told her she seriously needs to consider a bunionectomy or ditch the heels for a few months to let the inflammation calm down," says the friend. "She has not got that long to decide what to do."
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Verax NMS & APM MRV OptiSwitch management plugin allows easy monitoring, alerting, health check, management and performance reporting of MRV Communications' optical switches. The plugin uses SNMP for communicating with MRV devices.
The view provides inventory of all interfaces on the switch, along with information such as: type, description, operational status, and administrative status.
The plugin provides predefined templates for most commonly monitored MRV Switch items (listed in the table below). Other, user-defined sensors and performance counters can be added.


text:
from connector import channel
from google3.cloud.graphite.mmv2.services.google.compute import address_pb2
from google3.cloud.graphite.mmv2.services.google.compute import address_pb2_grpc

from typing import List

class Address(object):
    def __init__(
        self,
        id: int = None,
        name: str = None,
        description: str = None,
        address: str = None,
        prefix_length: int = None,
        status: str = None,
        region: str = None,
        self_link: str = None,
        network_tier: str = None,
        ip_version: str = None,
        address_type: str = None,
        purpose: str = None,
        subnetwork: str = None,
        network: str = None,
        project: str = None,
        creation_timestamp: str = None,
        users: list = None,
        label_fingerprint: str = None,
        location: str = None,
        service_account_file: str = "",
    ):

        channel.initialize()
        self.name = name
        self.description = description
        self.address = address
        self.prefix_length = prefix_length
        self.region = region
        self.network_tier = network_tier
        self.ip_version = ip_version
        self.address_type = address_type
        self.purpose = purpose
        self.subnetwork = subnetwork
        self.network = network
        self.project = project
        self.location = location
        self.service_account_file = service_account_file

    def apply(self):
        stub = address_pb2_grpc.ComputeAddressServiceStub(channel.Channel())
        request = address_pb2.ApplyComputeAddressRequest()
        if Primitive.to_proto(self.name):
            request.resource.name = Primitive.to_proto(self.name)

        if Primitive.to_proto(self.description):
            request.resource.description = Primitive.to_proto(self.description)

        if Primitive.to_proto(self.address):
            request.resource.address = Primitive.to_proto(self.address)

        if Primitive.to_proto(self.prefix_length):
            request.resource.prefix_length = Primitive.to_proto(self.prefix_length)

        if Primitive.to_proto(self.region):
            request.resource.region = Primitive.to_proto(self.region)

        if AddressNetworkTierEnum.to_proto(self.network_tier):
            request.resource.network_tier = AddressNetworkTierEnum.to_proto(
                self.network_tier
            )

        if AddressIPVersionEnum.to_proto(self.ip_version):
            request.resource.ip_version = AddressIPVersionEnum.to_proto(self.ip_version)

        if AddressAddressTypeEnum.to_proto(self.address_type):
            request.resource.address_type = AddressAddressTypeEnum.to_proto(
                self.address_type
            )

        if AddressPurposeEnum.to_proto(self.purpose):
            request.resource.purpose = AddressPurposeEnum.to_proto(self.purpose)

        if Primitive.to_proto(self.subnetwork):
            request.resource.subnetwork = Primitive.to_proto(self.subnetwork)

        if Primitive.to_proto(self.network):
            request.resource.network = Primitive.to_proto(self.network)

        if Primitive.to_proto(self.project):
            request.resource.project = Primitive.to_proto(self.project)

        if Primitive.to_proto(self.location):
            request.resource.location = Primitive.to_proto(self.location)

        request.service_account_file = self.service_account_file

        response = stub.ApplyComputeAddress(request)
        self.id = Primitive.from_proto(response.id)
        self.name = Primitive.from_proto(response.name)
        self.description = Primitive.from_proto(response.description)
        self.address = Primitive.from_proto(response.address)
        self.prefix_length = Primitive.from_proto(response.prefix_length)
        self.status = AddressStatusEnum.from_proto(response.status)
        self.region = Primitive.from_proto(response.region)
        self.self_link = Primitive.from_proto(response.self_link)
        self.network_tier = AddressNetworkTierEnum.from_proto(response.network_tier)
        self.ip_version = AddressIPVersionEnum.from_proto(response.ip_version)
        self.address_type = AddressAddressTypeEnum.from_proto(response.address_type)
        self.purpose = AddressPurposeEnum.from_proto(response.purpose)
        self.subnetwork = Primitive.from_proto(response.subnetwork)
        self.network = Primitive.from_proto(response.network)
        self.project = Primitive.from_proto(response.project)
        self.creation_timestamp = Primitive.from_proto(response.creation_timestamp)
        self.users = Primitive.from_proto(response.users)
        self.label_fingerprint = Primitive.from_proto(response.label_fingerprint)
        self.location = Primitive.from_proto(response.location)

    def delete(self):
        stub = address_pb2_grpc.ComputeAddressServiceStub(channel.Channel())
        request = address_pb2.DeleteComputeAddressRequest()
        request.service_account_file = self.service_account_file
        if Primitive.to_proto(self.name):
            request.resource.name = Primitive.to_proto(self.name)

        if Primitive.to_proto(self.description):
            request.resource.description = Primitive.to_proto(self.description)

        if Primitive.to_proto(self.address):
            request.resource.address = Primitive.to_proto(self.address)

        if Primitive.to_proto(self.prefix_length):
            request.resource.prefix_length = Primitive.to_proto(self.prefix_length)

        if Primitive.to_proto(self.region):
            request.resource.region = Primitive.to_proto(self.region)

        if AddressNetworkTierEnum.to_proto(self.network_tier):
            request.resource.network_tier = AddressNetworkTierEnum.to_proto(
                self.network_tier
            )

        if AddressIPVersionEnum.to_proto(self.ip_version):
            request.resource.ip_version = AddressIPVersionEnum.to_proto(self.ip_version)

        if AddressAddressTypeEnum.to_proto(self.address_type):
            request.resource.address_type = AddressAddressTypeEnum.to_proto(
                self.address_type
            )

        if AddressPurposeEnum.to_proto(self.purpose):
            request.resource.purpose = AddressPurposeEnum.to_proto(self.purpose)

        if Primitive.to_proto(self.subnetwork):
            request.resource.subnetwork = Primitive.to_proto(self.subnetwork)

        if Primitive.to_proto(self.network):
            request.resource.network = Primitive.to_proto(self.network)

        if Primitive.to_proto(self.project):
            request.resource.project = Primitive.to_proto(self.project)

        if Primitive.to_proto(self.location):
            request.resource.location = Primitive.to_proto(self.location)

        response = stub.DeleteComputeAddress(request)

    @classmethod
    def list(self, project, location, service_account_file=""):
        stub = address_pb2_grpc.ComputeAddressServiceStub(channel.Channel())
        request = address_pb2.ListComputeAddressRequest()
        request.service_account_file = service_account_file
        request.Project = project

        request.Location = location

        return stub.ListComputeAddress(request).items

    def to_proto(self):
        resource = address_pb2.ComputeAddress()
        if Primitive.to_proto(self.name):
            resource.name = Primitive.to_proto(self.name)
        if Primitive.to_proto(self.description):
            resource.description = Primitive.to_proto(self.description)
        if Primitive.to_proto(self.address):
            resource.address = Primitive.to_proto(self.address)
        if Primitive.to_proto(self.prefix_length):
            resource.prefix_length = Primitive.to_proto(self.prefix_length)
        if Primitive.to_proto(self.region):
            resource.region = Primitive.to_proto(self.region)
        if AddressNetworkTierEnum.to_proto(self.network_tier):
            resource.network_tier = AddressNetworkTierEnum.to_proto(self.network_tier)
        if AddressIPVersionEnum.to_proto(self.ip_version):
            resource.ip_version = AddressIPVersionEnum.to_proto(self.ip_version)
        if AddressAddressTypeEnum.to_proto(self.address_type):
            resource.address_type = AddressAddressTypeEnum.to_proto(self.address_type)
        if AddressPurposeEnum.to_proto(self.purpose):
            resource.purpose = AddressPurposeEnum.to_proto(self.purpose)
        if Primitive.to_proto(self.subnetwork):
            resource.subnetwork = Primitive.to_proto(self.subnetwork)
        if Primitive.to_proto(self.network):
            resource.network = Primitive.to_proto(self.network)
        if Primitive.to_proto(self.project):
            resource.project = Primitive.to_proto(self.project)
        if Primitive.to_proto(self.location):
            resource.location = Primitive.to_proto(self.location)
        return resource

class AddressStatusEnum(object):
    @classmethod
    def to_proto(self, resource):
        if not resource:
            return resource
        return address_pb2.ComputeAddressStatusEnum.Value(
            "ComputeAddressStatusEnum%s" % resource
        )

    @classmethod
    def from_proto(self, resource):
        if not resource:
            return resource
        return address_pb2.ComputeAddressStatusEnum.Name(resource)[
            len("ComputeAddressStatusEnum") :
        ]

class AddressNetworkTierEnum(object):
    @classmethod
    def to_proto(self, resource):
        if not resource:
            return resource
        return address_pb2.ComputeAddressNetworkTierEnum.Value(
            "ComputeAddressNetworkTierEnum%s" % resource
        )

    @classmethod
    def from_proto(self, resource):
        if not resource:
            return resource
        return address_pb2.ComputeAddressNetworkTierEnum.Name(resource)[
            len("ComputeAddressNetworkTierEnum") :
        ]

class AddressIPVersionEnum(object):
    @classmethod
    def to_proto(self, resource):
        if not resource:
            return resource
        return address_pb2.ComputeAddressIPVersionEnum.Value(
            "ComputeAddressIPVersionEnum%s" % resource
        )

    @classmethod
    def from_proto(self, resource):
        if not resource:
            return resource
        return address_pb2.ComputeAddressIPVersionEnum.Name(resource)[
            len("ComputeAddressIPVersionEnum") :
        ]

class AddressAddressTypeEnum(object):
    @classmethod
    def to_proto(self, resource):
        if not resource:
            return resource
        return address_pb2.ComputeAddressAddressTypeEnum.Value(
            "ComputeAddressAddressTypeEnum%s" % resource
        )

    @classmethod
    def from_proto(self, resource):
        if not resource:
            return resource
        return address_pb2.ComputeAddressAddressTypeEnum.Name(resource)[
            len("ComputeAddressAddressTypeEnum") :
        ]

class AddressPurposeEnum(object):
    @classmethod
    def to_proto(self, resource):
        if not resource:
            return resource
        return address_pb2.ComputeAddressPurposeEnum.Value(
            "ComputeAddressPurposeEnum%s" % resource
        )

    @classmethod
    def from_proto(self, resource):
        if not resource:
            return resource
        return address_pb2.ComputeAddressPurposeEnum.Name(resource)[
            len("ComputeAddressPurposeEnum") :
        ]

class Primitive(object):
    @classmethod
    def to_proto(self, s):
        if not s:
            return ""
        return s

    @classmethod
    def from_proto(self, s):
        return s

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Batu Khan oder auch Batu der Prächtige (, , * 1205; † 1255) war als Sohn Dschötschis und Enkel Dschingis Khans ein mongolischer Teilherrscher. Als solcher war Batu der Khan über die von ihm gegründete Goldene Horde.

Familie
Batus Brüder waren u. a. Orda, Berke Khan und Shibani. Seine Hauptfrau war Borakchin Khatun. Seine Söhne waren Sartaq Khan, Ulaqchi, Andewan und Toqoqan, die späteren Khane stammten von Letzterem ab.

Geschichte
Im Jahre 1236 besiegten die Truppen von Batu Khan die Wolgabulgaren und unterwarfen sie. Zwei Jahre später, 1238, besiegte Batu Khan den russischen Großfürsten Jurij II. von Wladimir-Susdal, den Onkel von Alexander Newski, am Sit, einem Nebenfluss der Mologa. Er eroberte zahlreiche russischen Städte, 1240 auch das nominelle Staatszentrum Kiew. Gleichzeitig drang eine weitere Armee gegen die Kiptschaken der Khane Batschman († 1238) und Kotjan († 1241) vor.

Im Jahre 1241 fiel Batus Heer unter seinen Feldherren Subotai und Baidar und seinem Bruder Shibani in Ostmitteleuropa ein. Nach der Eroberung von Krakau und Sandomir schlug Baidar am 9. April in der Schlacht bei Wahlstatt (auch Schlacht bei Liegnitz) ein vereinigtes deutsch-polnisches Ritterheer unter Führung von Herzog Heinrich dem Frommen von Schlesien. Das Hauptheer unter Batu, Subotai und Shibani zog über die Karpaten in die Ungarische Tiefebene und schlug am 11. April 1241 die Ungarn unter König Bela IV. in der Schlacht bei Muhi, ca. 15 Kilometer südlich von Miskolc. Sie erreichten die Adria und Wiener Neustadt, bevor sie aufgrund des Todes des Großkhans Ugedai und der nachfolgenden Thronstreitigkeiten umkehrten.

Batu Khan war dabei der wichtigste Widersacher Güyük Khans, dessen Thronbesteigung als Großkhan er bis 1246 hinauszögern konnte. Güyük Khan zog 1248 in seine Stammlande am Imil und von dort weiter ins Ili-Gebiet, angeblich um sich mit seinem Vetter Batu zu treffen und auszusöhnen. Auf dem Weg versammelte er durch große Freigebigkeit eine Armee um sich. Batu wurde aber durch Sorghaghtani Beki vor Güyüks Absichten gewarnt, bot ebenfalls eine Armee auf und zog ihm entgegen. Sieben bis zehn Tagesmärsche vor der militärischen Auseinandersetzung mit Batu Khan starb Güyük, wobei eine Vergiftung nahe liegt.

Nach dem Tod Güyük Khans unterstützte Batu Khan Möngke Khan als möglichen Großkhan, aber die diesbezüglichen Verhandlungen und Intrigen zogen sich bis 1251 hin. Schließlich wurde er (unter Abwesenheit einiger wichtiger Dschingisiden-Prinzen) gewählt und festigte seine Macht, indem er die Thronanwärter des Hauses Ögedei Khans nach einer Verschwörung entmachten und verbannen oder hinrichten ließ. Batu Khan wurde Möngkes Mitregent und blieb von dessen Verwaltungsmaßnahmen weitgehend verschont, was mittelfristig die Spaltung des Mongolenreiches begünstigte, zunächst aber Möngkes Macht im Gesamtreich stabilisierte.

Batu Khan setzte 1252 Alexander Newski als alleinigen Großfürsten der Wladimirer Rus ein. Bei seiner Rückkehr in die Steppe begründete Batu zudem im Wolgagebiet die Blaue Horde.

Batu starb 1255 und als Nachfolger als Khan der Goldenen Horde wurden seine Söhne Sartaq und Ulaqchi eingesetzt. Doch kurze Zeit später konnte deren Onkel, Berke Khan, die Macht an sich reißen.

Siehe auch
 Geschichte der Mongolen

Literatur
 German A. Dawydow: Die Goldene Horde und ihre Vorgänger. Koehler & Amelang, Leipzig 1972.
 Wassili Jan: Batu Khan. Kiepenheuer-Verlag, Weimar/Leipzig 1989, ISBN 3-378-00041-4.
 Emanuel Sarkisyanz: Die orientalischen Völker Russlands vor 1917. Eine Ergänzung zur ostslawischen Geschichte Rußlands. Oldenbourg, München 1961.
 Bertold Spuler: Die Goldene Horde. Die Mongolen in Rußland; 1223–1502. Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1965.

Weblinks

Dschingiside (Dschötschi-Linie)
Dschingiside (Blaue Horde)
Khan
Militärperson (Mongolisches Reich)
Herrscher (13. Jahrhundert)
Mongole
Person (mongolische Geschichte)
Mongolische Geschichte (13. Jahrhundert)
Geboren 1205
Gestorben 1255
Mann

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Sony Ericsson launches Live with Walkman Android smartphone | What Hi-Fi?
The latest Gingerbread 2.3 Android OS of course means you can access the Android Market and its 250,000 apps, too.
The phone will be available in selected markets from Q4 2011.


Comparing Landlord policies is free, fast and simple!
Landlords may find it harder to make a profit as a result of changes to the buy-to-let tax relief – Have a browse and find out why.
Being a private landlord has historically meant that you could take advantage of significant tax relief by offsetting your mortgage interest payments. But the new rules introduced in April 2017 may mean that some landlords will now pay more tax on their rental income.
If you were a private landlord before April 2017 with a mortgage on your property, any interest you paid towards the mortgage payments could be deducted from your rental income before you paid tax on it.
For example, if you made £10,000 a year in rental income, and your annual mortgage interest payment amounted to £9,000, you could deduct the £9,000 from your rental income. This meant you would only pay tax on the remaining £1,000 – so if you were in the 20% tax bracket, your tax bill on rental income would have been £200.
Since the start of the 2017-18 tax year, though, the new buy-to-let tax system has started to be phased in. Rather than an immediate change, the new rules will be introduced gradually year-by-year until they are fully in place by 2020.
This means that every tax year during the transition period, the percentage of your mortgage interest payments that you can deduct from your rental income will decrease by 25%, and the portion of those interest payments that qualify for the new tax credit will increase by 25%.
By 2020, you won't be able to deduct any of your mortgage interest payment from your rental income before paying tax – instead, the entire sum of your interest payment will then qualify for a 20% tax relief.
This means that a landlord getting £10,000 in rent and paying £9,000 in mortgage interest payments will end up paying tax on the full £10,000 – though the amount will still depend on their tax bracket.
They will then be able to deduct £1,800 from their tax bill due to the 20% tax credit, leaving them with the final overall tax bill on their rental income.
Landlords in higher tax brackets could then end up paying much more tax than before, as they'll be paying a percentage of the total rental income rather than the rental income minus their yearly mortgage interest payments. And the only tax relief they'll receive is 20% of their interest payment, instead of the entire amount.
A higher tax bracket: the rental income you use for interest payments must now be declared, which means you might find that you move up into a higher tax bracket.
Negative earnings: some landlords who have smaller profit margins may find that they are in the red after tax – meaning that they could be losing money.
The changes to mortgage interest tax relief only affect private and individual landlords, and many are now setting up their own limited company as a result to try and reduce the impact of the new system.
It's important to know that the process of transferring property ownership from yourself to your limited company will still count as a sale, which means you may have to pay capital gains tax – in order to be sure about the finances involved, it can be useful to seek out expert financial advice.
You should also consider that companies are unlikely to get the same choice of mortgages, instead being offered a limited selection.


text:
H.H. Maharana Raj Shri Banesinhji Jaswantsinhji Sahib  (1842 – 12 June 1881) was the  Maharana Raj Sahib of Wankaner belonging to Jhala dynasty, who ascended the throne of princely state of Wankaner in 1860 upon death of his grandfather, Maharana Raj Shri Wakhatsinhji Chandrasinhji and ruled until his death in 1881. His father Kumar Shri Jaswantsinhji Vakhatsinhji Sahib was the eldest son of Maharana Raj Shri Wakhatsinhji Chandrasinhji, who died in 1844. He was succeeded by his son, Amarsinhji Banesinhji. He was educated privately and was a progressive and modern ruler who introduced the first reforms and innovations in administrations, revenue collection, justice, public works and police matters. Unfortunately, much of his reign was spent in battling against the twin scourges of drought and famine. He was recipient of Prince of Wales' Medal - 1875, and Kaiser-i-Hind Medal - 1877.

References

1842 births
1881 deaths
Indian royalty
People from Rajkot district
Gujarati people
Recipients of the Kaisar-i-Hind Medal
Maharajas of Wankaner


This kind of strident militarism reached a new climax after 9/11. The White House apparently hoped to embark on a series regime-changing interventions in the Middle East and Asia with the expectation of producing at minimal cost shining examples of liberation and democratization, as well as secure the Gulf oil reserves and establish military bases to undergird its regional ambitions. The attacks on Afghanistan, and especially Iraq, were the most notorious applications of this misguided approach. Instead of 'democracy' (Washington's code word for integration into its version of neoliberal globalization), what emerged was strife and chaos, and the collapse of stable internal governance.
The strong state that preceded the intervention gave way to localized militias and resurgent tribal, clan, and religious rivalries leading domestic populations to wish for a return to the relative stability of the preceding authoritarian arrangements, despite their brutality and corruption. And even in Washington one encounters whispered admissions that Iraq was better off, after all, under Saddam Hussein than under the kind of sectarian and divisive leaders that governed the country since the American occupation began in 2003, and now threaten Iraq with an implosion that will produce at least two states replacing the shattered one.
Despite its supposed liberalism the Obama leadership played along with these developments. It obliged the new Sisi-led leadership by avoiding the term 'coup' although the military takeover was followed by a bloody crackdown on the elected leadership and civil society leadership.
What happened in the years that followed removed the ambiguity, confirming that material and ideological interests took precedence over visionary endorsements of Arab democracy. The reality that emerged indicated that neither the domestic setting nor the international context was compatible with the existence of democratic forms of governance. What unsurprisingly followed was a series of further military interventions and strategic confrontations either via NATO as in Libya or by way of its regional partners, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates as in Iran, Syria, Bahrain, and Yemen. With few tears shed in Washington, the authentic and promising democratic beginnings in Egypt that excited the world in the aftermath of the 2011 Tahrir Square were crushed two years later by a populist military coup that restored Mubarak Era authoritarianism, accentuating its worst features.
What amounted to the revenge of the urban secular elites in Cairo included a genuine bonding between a new majority of the Egyptian people and its armed forces in a bloody struggle to challenge and destroy the Muslim Brotherhood that had taken control of the government by winning a series of elections. Despite its supposed liberalism the Obama leadership played along with these developments. It obliged the new Sisi-led leadership by avoiding the term 'coup' although the military takeover was followed by a bloody crackdown on the elected leadership and civil society leadership. This Orwellian trope of refusing to call a coup by its real name enabled the United States to continue military assistance to Egypt without requiring a new Congressional authorization.
In such circumstances, it is difficult to find much hope in the current cosmodrama of world politics. It is possible, although unlikely, that geopolitical sanity will prevail to the extent of finding a diplomatic formula to end the violence in Syria and Yemen, as well as to normalize relations with Iran, restore order in Iraq and Libya, although such sensible outcomes face many obstacles, and may be years away. The alternatives for the Middle East in the near future, barring the political miracle of a much more revolutionary and emancipatory second Arab Spring, seems to be authoritarian stability or anarchic strife and chaos, which seems far preferable if the alternative is the deep trauma associated with enduring further American military interventions. If you happen to hear the Republican candidates give their prescriptions for fixing the Middle East it comes down to 'toughness,' including the scary recommendations of 'carpet bombing' and a greatly heightened American military presence.
Even the more thoughtful Democrats limit their proposals to enhanced militarism, hoping to induce the Arab countries to put 'the boots on the ground' with nary a worry about either igniting a regional war or the imaginative collapse that can only contemplate war as the recipe for peace, again recalling the degree to which Orwellian satiric irony is relied upon to shape foreign policy prescriptions by ambitious politicians. Imaginative diplomacy, talking and listening to the enemy, and engaging in self-scrutiny remains outside the cast iron cage of the military mentality that has long dominated most of the political space in American foreign policy debates with the conspicuous help of the passive aggressive mainstream media. In this respect, American democracy is a broken reality, and conscientious citizens must look elsewhere as a prison break of the political imagination is long overdue.


text:
Yes, the New iPhone Could Cost $800 – You'll Probably Pay $200, Though
By Doug Aamoth Aug. 02, 2012
There's a double rainbow of trending Twitter topics right now: iPhone 5 $800 and #800DollarsForAniPhone. The people of Twitter are aghast! Aren't iPhones supposed to cost $200? "For $800, this phone better [insert outrageous task] for me!" says everyone.
Smart phones cost far less than their suggested prices, thanks to carrier subsidization. That two-year contract you lock yourself into every time you pay $200 for a fancy phone? That's how it's $200 — because you've agreed to pay Verizon, AT&T, Sprint or T-Mobile $80-plus a month for the next two years. In return, you get an $800 phone for $200.
For reference, here's what Apple sells "unlocked" — meaning you'd buy the phone without agreeing to a two-year service contract, forgoing the subsidized handset price in the process — iPhones for right now: 8-GB iPhone 4, $549; 16-GB iPhone 4S, $649; 32-GB iPhone 4S, $749; 64-GB iPhone 4S, $849.
That's why it's important to not lose or damage your phone. Even though you paid $200 for it, it costs a lot more than $200 to replace if you're not up for a contract renewal.
Aside from all that, this $800 rumor is pure speculation. If there's a grain of truth to it, $800 is almost certainly the price of one of the models of phones when purchased without a contract. If any carrier tried to sell the new iPhone for $800 with a two-year contract, nobody would buy it.
Actually, don't quote me on that. You never know with Apple stuff.
The new iPhone — whenever it comes out and whatever features it's got — will be priced in line with other smart phones sold via wireless carriers in the U.S., though. That's a given.
VIDEO: How to Save a Wet Cell Phone


text:
April 21, 2015 / 5:04 AM / 4 years ago
Boutique banks to suffer most if Comcast-Time Warner Cable deal vetoed
Liana B. Baker
(Reuters) - Hints that U.S. regulators could veto Comcast Corp's proposed $45 billion takeover of Time Warner Cable Inc have investment bankers worried about whether they will get paid, with smaller advisory firms particularly on edge.
A Comcast sign is shown on the side of a vehicle in San Francisco, California February 13, 2014. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith
Boutique investment banks such as Allen & Company, Centerview Partners and Paul Taubman's PJT Partners have limited resources compared to their larger brethren, and they use them to win mandates on a few big deals. Yet it is megadeals such as the Comcast-Time Warner Cable buyout, that carry the most regulatory risk.
"Big banks have many deals going on, and they can afford to lose one more, even though it is painful. Smaller firms are less diversified, so for them it's much more painful," said Campbell Harvey, a professor of international business at Duke University's Fuqua School of Business.
At least $140 million in investment banking advisory fees are at risk if the Department of Justice ends up blocking the deal. Bloomberg News reported on Friday that staff attorneys at the department's antitrust division were nearing a recommendation to veto the takeover because of concern about its impact on consumers.
As much as $170 million in fees on two smaller transactions tied to the Time Warner buyout involving Comcast rival Charter Communications Inc may be in peril too, according to estimates by consulting firm Freeman & Co LLC.
To be sure, bankers often negotiate a provision that allows them to be paid a fraction of the agreed fee if the deal falls through. These agreements are not public, but Freeman & Co estimates they amount to just 10 to 15 percent of the fee with a consummated transaction.
JPMorgan Chase & Co, former top Morgan Stanley banker Taubman and Barclays, which jointly advised Comcast, would split an estimated $51 million to $68 million in advisory fees if the proposed takeover goes through, according to Freeman.
Financial advisers to Time Warner Cable - Morgan Stanley, Allen & Company, Citigroup Inc and Centerview Partners - are set to share $57 million to $75 million in fees, the estimates show.
Taubman finished 2014 ranked 23rd in the worldwide mergers & acquisitions league tables based on four deals, according to Thomson Reuters data. However, without Comcast, his ranking would fall out of the top 100. Centerview, which worked on 45 announced deals and was ranked 12th last year, would fall to 15th without the cable deal.
If the Comcast-Time Warner Cable takeover were to be scuttled, Charter and Comcast's three-part transaction that swaps subscribers, divests some Time Warner Cable subscribers to Charter and creates a spinoff company called GreatLand Communications, would also be scrapped. That deal would generate up to $87 million for the advisers, according to Freeman.
Charter's $10.4 billion acquisition of closely held cable provider Bright House Networks, which Freeman said could generate up to $83 million in banker fees, can also be called off if Comcast-Time Warner Cable is not approved. Time Warner Cable has a right of first offer on Bright House, and could exercise it if Comcast walked away, analysts said.
Liontree and Goldman Sachs, Charter's advisers on the Time Warner Cable asset swap and the Bright House acquisition, would see a short-term loss in fees if Comcast's takeover of Time Warner Cable fell apart. In the long run, though, they could come out on top.
Charter has been vocal about its plans to go after Time Warner Cable should it become available again - a deal that could raise fewer antitrust red flags because it would involve less market concentration than the Comcast takeover. Charter could then use the same set of advisers.
Backing the right horse can be a difficult calculation. Barclays had originally been working for Charter on the financing side when it was first planning to buy Time Warner Cable, but then switched sides to work with Comcast last year, sources familiar with the matter said at the time.
Reporting by Liana B. Baker in New York; Editing by Greg Roumeliotis in New York and Christian Plumb


In a tweet on Monday, CBS revealed just how important Tiger's run for the green jacket was to them in terms of ratings.
The final-round coverage of the Masters on Sunday was the highest rated golf broadcast in 34 years. At this point, it's almost impossible to argue that Tiger Woods isn't good for golf. The ratings numbers speak for themselves.
Is Tiger Woods good for golf?


Desert invasion Cane toads are using stress hormones to physiologically adapt to extreme heat and dryness as they invade the arid regions Australia, say researchers.
Ecologist Dr Tim Jessop, from the University of Melbourne, and colleagues, report their findings today in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
"At the present range front we have demonstrated that the toads are locally adapted through this physiological challenge," says Jessop.
In their march across arid Australia, cane toads face the twin challenges of extreme heat and low humidity.
"Outside of the wet season, that environment is basically bone dry for eight months of the year, and the toads have to face extraordinarily high temperatures," says Jessop.
On the one hand the toads must lose water to cool down through evaporation - the equivalent of our sweating - so they don't overheat.
On the other hand, they need to conserve water so they don't dehydrate.
Cane toads at the invasion front need to optimise this trade-off to survive the extended arid zone dry season.
"When you are caught between a rock and hard place all you can do is try and sit in the middle," says Jessop.
The toad's water balance is influenced by stress hormones, says Jessop, which help organisms adapt their physiological and behavioural responses to the environment.
As it gets hotter, stress hormones increase the amount of water loss for cooling purposes, but this also increases the risk of death from dehydration.
So the toad must have just the right amount of stress hormone: too little and will suffer heat exhaustion; too much and it will become dehydrated.
Jessop and colleagues wanted to find out if toads were successfully using the stress hormone to adapt to arid environments, or whether they were physiologically stressed and unlikely to advance any further.
"Can they keep going or have they hit the wall?"
In a study of around 300 toads in the Tanami Desert, the researchers injected some individuals with a chemical that increased their stress hormone level, while the others were left untreated.
Jessop and colleagues measured the effect of stress hormones on the rate of water loss and survival in both groups to confirm the role of stress hormones in controlling water loss.
Importantly, they found that the survival rate in the untreated toads was higher than those manipulated to have higher stress hormone levels.
This told the researchers that the toads were adapting and still had the potential to continue their invasion come the next wet season.
"They're still physiologically capable of expanding further," says Jessop.
But, he says, if the environment keeps getting harsher the toads will eventually be unable to adapt.
Jessop says the study is the first to show the adaptive benefit of stress hormones, which to date has been difficult to demonstrate.
Use these social-bookmarking links to share Stress helps cane toads' desert invasion.


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text:
By Paul Farley Sep 1, 2015
Nathan Group acquires Morris brands
The newly-formed Nathan Group, which already has the Nathan and Sutcliffe brands in its portfolio, has acquired Morris Furniture Brands Ltd, owner of Morris, Zone and Relaxateeze, from H Morris and Co.
Home / News / Articles / 2015 / September
Nathan Furniture, Sutcliffe Furniture and the new Morris Furniture Brands company (featuring Morris, Zone cabinet and Relaxateeze upholstery, but not G Plan Cabinets) will all operate under the Nathan Group portfolio. The new Nathan Group's combined turnover will rise to £20m and will supply over 600 independent retailers together with multiple retailers across the UK.
Each of the three brands will remain as independent operations, led by MD Andrew Cochrane, who has been part of the Nathan team since 2005, but all will benefit from the group's combined strengths of offshore sourcing and expertise in UK manufacturing. The distinctly different product and brand offering of Morris, Nathan and Sutcliffe remain unchanged.
Andrew comments: "I am delighted to be heading up Morris Furniture Brands, which has an established presence with its extensive living, dining and upholstery offer. We intend to build on the existing successful products within the portfolio and to continue to develop the individual identities and propositions of each of the three Morris brands. The existing sales team will continue its outstanding work in representing us and use its extensive product and market knowledge to ensure that we closely meet the needs of our loyal and longstanding customer base."
Operations for the three Morris Furniture Brands will be brought into Nathan Group's base in Todmorden, Lancashire.
Paul Lamb has been appointed MD of Nathan Furniture and will lead and develop this part of the enlarged group. Paul has worked in a number of businesses within the industry including Sweet Dreams and the Airsprung Group.
Paul comments: "This is an exciting chance to work with one of the most established names in British furniture and I'm looking forward to be working with the already successful Nathan team and its retail customers."
Nicholas Radford, who boasts a long track record in the industry, becomes chairman of the new Nathan Group. He started out at his family business, Stag Furniture, and stayed until the company was sold to Spring Ram in 1992. Nicholas then launched his own successful business which became the largest importer of American furniture to the UK. In 2004 he acquired Nathan from Silentnight and, with a small team, successfully acquired and rejuvenated Sutcliffe in 2011. Nicholas adds: "The acquisition of the three Morris brands is a unique opportunity to bring together three great British names, to strengthen each brand as part of a new Nathan Group which has such heritage in the industry. Together we can provide our retail customers with the best quality cabinet and upholstery."
As part of the acquisition, H Morris and Co will take a 20% shareholding in the Nathan Group. Robert Morris, who brings over 40 years' experience to the table, joins the new Nathan Group board to continue his family legacy.
Robert comments: "This is an exciting time and we're delighted that Nicholas and his team have acquired the business and will be continue to invest and evolve the name of Morris within British retail."
The Morris and Zone cabinet brands and the Relaxateeze upholstery brand will continue to be managed independently by the existing sales teams headed by their respective sales managers, Kevin Barfoot and Alan Weir. The G Plan Cabinets brand has not been acquired by Nathan Group, but has, according to The Furnishing Report, been sold to Sofa Brands International, owner of the G Plan Upholstery brand, giving the sofa group sole ownership of the G Plan monicker.
Shop price inflation hits new heights
Furniture News is a leading publication for the interiors sector featuring coverage of the latest contemporary furniture trends and the furnishings trade in the UK and overseas.
Morris group cuts workforce due to overseas pressure
Scottish furniture supply group H Morris & Company has cut its Glasgow workforce by as much as 30% after facing a write down of around £...


Decided to take a "shot" at really showing myself in my self portrait today. Think it turned out not so bad.
Thanks so much . . . some days I'm not so sure getting a picture of the inside of my head is such a great idea . . . I know what you mean tho!
Thanks! It is taking alot for me to get in front of the camera! I'm hoping to learn alot from it, both personally and professionally!
Great self-portrait…I too would rather be behind the camera most days…or at least partially obscured as in so many of your self-portraits.


text:
class Marty::Relation
  # Given a Mcfly class (klass) and a list of classes which can
  # reference klass, returns instaces of klass which have no references.
  def self.not_referenced(klass, ref_classes)
    col = (klass.name.split('::').last.snakecase + '_id').to_sym

    ids = klass.where(obsoleted_dt: 'infinity').pluck(:group_id)

    ref_ids = ref_classes.map do |rclass|
      rclass.where(obsoleted_dt: 'infinity', col => ids).pluck(col)
    end.flatten.uniq

    klass.where(id: ids - ref_ids).to_a
  end

  # Find Mcfly references from klass instances which have been
  # obsoleted.  A hash is returned with a key for each
  # mcfly_belongs_to reference from klass.
  def self.obsoleted_references(klass)
    assoc_h = Marty::DataConversion.associations(klass)
    assoc_h.each_with_object({}) do |(a, ah), h|
      assoc_class = ah[:assoc_class]
      foreign_key = ah[:foreign_key]

      next unless Mcfly.mcfly? assoc_class

      h[a] = klass.where(obsoleted_dt: 'infinity').map do |obj|
        ref_key = obj.send(foreign_key)
        next unless ref_key

        ref = assoc_class.find(ref_key)
        obj unless Mcfly.is_infinity(ref.obsoleted_dt)
      end.compact
    end
  end
end


text:
Leo Poloniecki
I am interested to rent "E&A Series 18 and would like to find out if I can.
E&A Series 18
The E&A Series
The E&A Series is a collection of paintings created for the launch of interior design firm E&A Interiors – founded by Chloe Elkerton and Elizabeth Acland. Knowing their style was somewhat classical, the intention for the series was to create quite formal, architectural work that didn't shout. For me, they have a 70s feel but, hopefully, a freshness too.
Gouache and acrylic with charcoal and pencil, on paper.
All paintings are framed.
Actual dimensions of artwork: 50.8 x 40.5cm
Size: W 54.0 cm x H 64.0 cm
Leo Poloniecki | Singapore
Leo Poloniecki is a British artist living and working in Singapore. who was trained at the Camberwell Art School, part of the London Institute, where he specialised in Fine Art. After graduating, he went on to read English Literature at Exeter University.
These two loves – art and literature – have been the two sides of his creative life. He's written a number of novels and screenplays, whilst developing his love for the visual arts.
He is a contemplative painter and understands that the act of beginning a painting creates an imbalance that asks to be resolved. Whether painting figurative or abstract work, each painting becomes a journey towards that resolution - with its own set of struggles and conflicts.
Above all, there's a love of the pleasure of paint itself, and the textures and colours that can be created with it. With luck, any finished work communicates the enjoyment the artist has had making it.
E&A Series - Blue Yellow
E&A Series - Gold
E&A Series - Red
Mixed Berries With Caramel Sauce
by May Ann Doña Francisco
Leo For Charity
by Kai Prints