One thing that is increasingly obvious is that the current model used by much of the world for managing public monetary systems is fundamentally broken. Instead of serving the public interest modern monetary systems are serving a select few as they are deployed in blowing ever more imaginative asset price bubbles. Understandably many are calling for a return to a Gold Standard to end the "bubble blowing" but is that the best solution to the problem?
About the only good thing that can be said about the mania for deregulating private bank credit creation over the last 30-40 years is that it has made identification of the core sickness of modern western economics much easier.
While bank credit creation was relatively closely regulated to increase the likelihood it was being directed to productive purposes, it was difficult to discern the fundamental defect of effectively privatising the power over the creation of public money. Provided the privatised power was generally being directed to productive purposes most people were happy to let bankers occupy an important role in the public monetary systems of most western countries.
It is important to remember that the specific role played by bankers during the era of closely regulated credit creation (1940 to approx 1980), varied between countries depending on the nature of the credit regulations in force. Those regulations in turn reflected the resource allocation priorities of governments and, to the extent the governments were democratic and reflected the interests of their populations, it could be said that private bank credit creation, when carefully regulated, reflected at least in part the priorities of the general voting population.
However, this ended with the deregulation of private bank credit creation as the whole point of deregulation of private bank credit creation was the theory that the invisible hand of the 'market' and profit hungry bankers were the best judge of who should be given private bank credit and for what purposes.
The only limitation on this wonderful 'freedom' for bankers was that bank failure was to be avoided, if possible. Thus we saw the rise of new regulators who described themselves as "prudential regulators" rather than regulators of "credit creation" itself. As long as a bank did not go broke it could essentially do whatever it liked in terms of granting credit to those it judged 'credit worthy'. In Australia the prudential regulator was called the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA).
The only other control over the credit creation activities of the private banks was to be exercised by the Reserve Bank of Australia who would use a single interest rate, the target or overnight rate, to influence a range of other interest rates and in doing so the demand for various types of bank credit.
To reinforce this religious faith in the wisdom of the invisible hand of the market the regulators of private banks, the RBA and APRA, were given 'independence' from the government.
So complete was the victory of the 'free market' theories that governments rushed to sell off public banks across the globe so they could benefit from the magical powers of the market and deregulated credit creation.
So how did this experiment go?
The most outstanding feature of the period of deregulated private bank credit has been a series of bubbles in a range of asset prices. Each bubble has been bigger than the last and judging from the explosion of debt, public and private, after the GFC we are currently blowing the mother of all bubbles.
It appears that "free market" theories don't work so well when it comes to private bank credit creation. The wise all knowing invisible hand of the market has gone missing and instead we find that the hands doing the 'work' are attached to some bonus hunting banker or their symbiotic co-life form …the asset price speculator.
The problem is very simple.
When a private bank creates credit that can be exchanged by law one for one for credit created by the government you have effectively given banks power to create something very close to public money when they create a bank loan.
You don't need to be Einstein to work out what happens when you give someone a power to create public money and then deregulate how they use that power.
They start using the power…… a lot. What that means is bankers start creating as much credit as they can find 'credit worthy' people willing to sign loan contracts.
In other words what deregulation of private bank credit creation meant was nothing more than money printing on a grand scale by the private banks rather than government. The money printing took the form of private bank credit and it was directed to pumping up asset prices, especially the price of land.
Certainly there were 'some' theoretical limits on the money creation by the private banks. No one is suggesting they were given a magic money tree.
Apart from the practical requirements of staying solvent and ensuring they had the means to meet day to day operational requirements, the local prudential authorities and their international counterparts issued all sorts of guidelines about capital adequacy and/or deposits. But these were generally only intended to stop banks blowing themselves up. And as we know from the visible and not so visible local and international bailouts of banking systems, including the Australian banking system, around the western world after the GFC, prudential regulation proved to be a colossal failure.
Not that any of them will admit it of course. They are worried the public might lose 'confidence'.
One of the interesting features about the privatisation of the public power over money creation during the era of deregulated private bank credit creation has been the low levels of inflation…or at least one type of inflation.
Even allowing for the fiddling of how CPI inflation is measured to make it appear lower, in general the CPI inflation measures have been low despite the out of control levels of private bank credit creation.
The reason is straightforward when one considers that the money creation by the private banks has been directed to pumping up asset prices of the asset rich rather than putting money in the wallets of the average worker. So while asset owners are getting rich and feeling mighty good about life, most people have not seen much 'trickle down' from the bank accounts of the asset rich.
Plus those who have been brave and have jumped on the "ladder of opportunity" and taken on a mountain of debt to acquire a property often find their remaining disposable income is so limited that they have very little power to stimulate demand elsewhere in the economy.
A bit like the poor sailor in the Ancient Mariner, the private banks were creating credit / money everywhere but not much more than a drop for the real economy to drink.
What has this got to do with a gold standard?
In order to assess whether the return to a gold standard will solve a problem we need to be very clear as to what the problem is it is trying to solve.
Keep in mind that one of the features of the era of private bank credit creation deregulation was that 'free market' maniacs were banging on about governments running balanced budgets ' like a household' and many governments tried to do that. The hallmark of an "economic adult" government during this period was whether they were getting close to or had achieved a budget surplus.
In other words, during the period that the banks were going mental and creating credit hand over fist the public sector was trying as hard as possible to avoid creating credit (a budget deficit amounts to the creation of public credit). Not surprisingly they were egged on by the mainstream press paid for and subservient to private banking sponsorships. Nothing less than the complete privatisation of public money creation was the goal.
So while there was money creation happening on a grand scale during the deregulation period most of it was not by government…at least not until they started clocking up massive debts as they tried to bail out their private banking systems and revive economies suffering the effects of going private bank credit 'cold turkey'.
Will return to a Gold Standard help?
The attractions of a gold standard are obvious.
Gold is hard to find and therefore if we tie our public monetary system to quantities of gold that should prevent out of control money creation. If you want to create new money you better grab a shovel and dig some up.
The difficulty with a Gold Standard is that gold is not that useful to use as money unless you are into bling and don't mind chopping off a gram or two when you pay for the groceries. So when people talk about a Gold Standard they are really talking about using some sort of certificate / bit of paper that represents a claim on some physical gold in a vault somewhere.
But once you are talking about using bits of paper that represent a claim on some gold in some vault you are back in the territory of trust and confidence. Do you trust the organisation issuing the certificate / claim to actually have the physical gold and be willing to deliver it on demand when you want it?
In the lead up to the GFC and after the GFC a topic of hot conversation on websites about gold was whether there was gold in certain well known vaults and whether, when push came to shove, your 'gold supplier' would actually deliver on the certificate / receipt they had issued. Gold suppliers like Perth Mint went to great pains to explain how your chunk of gold was resting happily waiting for you when the time came.
Considering that banking got its bad reputation because its business model originally involved issuing more 'receipts' for gold to be produced on demand than was in the vault, it is hard to see how a return to a Gold Standard would allow anyone to rest easily.
This does not mean that gold and gold certificates do not have a role to play. Gold is hard to find and as yet the alchemists have not succeeded in creating gold (they switched to double entry bank accounting centuries ago). This means that it is perfectly valid for people to want to prefer to use gold or claims on gold as money.
However, that is not the same as requiring that gold or claims on gold be adopted as the basis of the public monetary system.
It seems simpler to just accept that as a public monetary system is nothing more than trust that the full faith and credit of the nation stands behind its public money, the critical thing is making sure that the public monetary system is not being molested by a bunch of profit seeking private parties.
In other words our public monetary system does not need to be gold based but it does need to have the private bankers expelled from any role in relation to public money creation as fast as possible.
Removing the private bankers from the public monetary system.
Re-regulate private bank credit creation to ensure that it serves the public interest and democratically determined resource allocation objectives rather than the asset price speculating and bonus hunting interests of a minority.
Introduce a entirely public system of deposit accounts so that every citizen has the ability to save and transact without needing to have a 'relationship' with a private bank who then uses that relationship to data mine.
Progressively tighten the regulation of bank credit creation and reserve requirements until the banks power to create public money in the form of bank credit has been completely lost. At that point a bank will be no different to any other financial sector organisation. They will seek funds from investors and then invest those funds on terms consistent with the terms on which the investors advanced them.
Encourage / permit private forms of money – e.g. Gold backed certificates, cryptos etc – so there is plenty of competition and alternatives to the now entirely public 'public' money.
Allowing private banks a role in the monetary system by giving their credit equal status to credit created by the public was always a terrible mistake and should be consigned to the history books as a barbaric economic relic.
Any doubts about this should have been erased by the experiences of the last 30-40 years when private bank credit creation was effectively deregulated and let loose to create havoc across the globe.
While the appeal of a Gold Standard is understandable it is unlikely to be a solution unless we understand that the fundamental problem was the role of the banks in the public monetary system and the damage caused by the way private bankers abused their privilege.
Removing the role of the private banks in the public monetary system while encouraging the private sector to offer competing private monetary 'trust' products, including options involving gold and gold backed claims, would seem the best step forward and the best way to keep the public money 'honest' and healthy.
Except banks were not deregulated, they were turned into a private oligopoly. The regulatory burden for banking, and the licences required to carry it out ensures this.
A real free market would see tens of thousands of banks. Who wouldn't want to have the power to create money?
There is an argument to be made that natural monopolies, i.e. utility functions, should be managed centrally rather than concentrated into a few private hands. Neither of those solutions have worked out well.
The answer is not deregulation, but decentralisation, which diversifies ownership of the monopoly good, and breaks the monopoly. Given the fight against the decentralisation of energy generation, it is obvious that our government has no interest in the stability or robustness of our economy, but simply serves the interests of the the 1%.
It is worse than that. My reference to deregulated banks is a reference to their credit creation powers in the context of the status given to that credit creation by the state. In effect what we have is a highly centralised state/private bank partnership. As you note the consequences are not good regardless of who from time to time has the 'whip' in the partnership. Deregulation means that the private banks are dominating the partnership. Credit regulation means the state is dominating. At the moment in Australia we are probably seeing a slight shift back to the state as a result of the Banking Royal Commission.
Decentralising the power over money is definitely a better alternative.
There are many forms that can take but the key is a mix between a wide range of private money and public money (not necessarily just at the national level).
Yes, trust is golden, but is a return to the 'barbaric relic' necessary to restore trust in fiat after "the damage caused by the way private bankers abused their privilege"?
Governments' resolve in protection of confidence in their currency should be sufficient.
Perhaps in Australia, the problem will not be addressed (now manifest (as elsewhere) in private banks' recklessness, crypto, gig-economy, etc) until the housing market crashes. The imperative then will be for the Govt to administer the restructure of all the insolvent private banks into good/bad banks. Good banks will be amalgamated into a public savings bank ('myRBA'?) into which only depositors' funds liabilities and personal home-loan assets are transferred. The 'bad' banks will be wound-up with losses to their commercial creditors, thereby providing a widely-disseminated lesson in the risk of involvement in a fractional-banking system. Regrettably, the learnings last only for 2 generations.
Private banks (and fractional banking) for commercial lending need not be proscribed (as who can argue against the laissez-faire results achieved in British Hong-Kong) but without govt-guarantee!
Let them profit in the next boom, and die in the subsequent bust. Unless we become reliant on banking services as an export industry (viz UK) why should most Australians be affected?


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text:
Fear is supposed to cause you to be cautious, but for many things we allow fear to prevent us from living.
Adam Hamilton Co-Founder and Senior Pastor, United Methodist Church of the Resurrect...
Off Stage 12: Addressing Partisanship at the Pulpit
Can faith help unite us in divided times? How are religious leaders navigating divisions inside and outside their places of worship? Adam Hamilton ministers to about 20,000 Methodists in and around Kansas City. He says he's determined to mend the deep divisions he sees in his congregation. He speaks with guest host Joshua Johnson. Johnson hosts "1A," a national news/talk radio show produced by WAMU in Washington, DC. The "Off Stage Series" goes into the issues that impact all of us. These conversations feature presenters at the Aspen Ideas Festival.
Adam Hamilton
Co-Founder and Senior Pastor, United Methodist Church of the Resurrect...
Founding Host, "1A," WAMU and NPR
Off Stage 13: One Synagogue's Unconventional Outreach Approach
Shira Stutman is senior rabbi at a historic synagogue that's doing innovative things.
Off Stage 14: Islam in America Today
Imam Khalid Latif is New York University's first Muslim chaplain.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Events open to the public from the University of Cambridge
Touch Tours for Blind and Partially Sighted Adults
Join the Polar Museum team for a touch tour and explore a range of objects from polar history. The tour will also include some of the objects and sculptures outside on the museum lawn.
View this week's TalksView all this week's events
The 2021 Annual Lee Seng Tee Distinguished Lecture - Race, Scientific Racism and Genetics
Wed 24 November 2021
The roots of biology are inextricably bound to the politics of empire. Human classification began in service of European expansion, and with it came the foundations of race and scientific racism that we endure today. Contemporary genetics has thoroughly demolished the biological concept of race, but the legacies of this pernicious history persist in our data, our labs and our scientific language. These echoes serve neither science nor scientists, and to know our own history is the first step in fixing this legacy.
The lecture will end with a live Q&A session, followed by a drinks reception in the Lee Hall Foyer. Please make sure to book your tickets on Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/lee-seng-tee-distinguished-lecture-race-scientific-racism-genetics-tickets-190487752997.
A livestream will also become available on our website: https://www.wolfson.cam.ac.uk/about/events/2021-annual-lee-seng-tee-distinguished-lecture-race-scientific-racism-and-genetics.
Enquiries and booking
Please note that booking is required for this event.
Live Stream In person
Subscribe to iCal
Wed 24 November 2021 6:00PM - 7:15PM
Address: Wolfson College
Lee Hall
Barton Road
CB39BB
Email: events@wolfson.cam.ac.uk
© 2011 What's On, University of Cambridge, The Old Schools, Trinity Lane, Cambridge CB2 1TN
Information provided by communicationsservices@admin.cam.ac.uk, 29 November 2011


text:
using Microsoft.TemplateEngine.Abstractions;

namespace Microsoft.TemplateEngine.Edge.Template
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        public string OutputBaseDirectory { get; }

        public ICreationEffects CreationEffects { get; }
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}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Kenya green-lights Pfizer vaccine doses for minors between 15-18 years
The Ministry of Health has approved Covid-19 vaccinations for children between the ages of 15-18 years. According to health CS Mutahi Kagwe the pharmacy and poisons board has received authorization
The Ministry of Health has approved Covid-19 vaccinations for children between the ages of 15-18 years. According to health CS Mutahi Kagwe the pharmacy and poisons board has received authorization to administer Pfizer vaccines for all person 12 years of age and above as recommended by WHO.
Once vaccination starts, Kenya will join the list of countries that have already vaccinated its teenage population, reducing the Covid-19 cases in the country in general such as the United Arab Emirates, China and Cuba.
The new directive is expected to put the country on track to achieving its goal of having 30 million people vaccinated by the end of next year.
Photo by Michael Marais / Unsplash
The Ministry of Health has also announced new measures to boost the uptake of Covid-19 vaccines in the country. According to the new measures, Kenyans will be required to show proof of vaccination before they can access government services and transport services.
The new directives also limit the capacity of indoor gatherings to two-thirds with attendants required to produce proof of vaccination.
The November issue of Parents Magazine celebrates single parents
Up-close and candid with Ghetto Classics founder Elizabeth Njoroge on music, navigating motherhood, and single parenting.Maria Muinde on finding healing after being accused of her husband's death and being a voice for widows..
Featured Image by www.health.go.ke
Uhuru set to begin a 3 day state visit to South Africa
What you need to know about breaking up with someone you love


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Karczmiska Drugie – wieś w Polsce, położona w województwie lubelskim, w powiecie opolskim, w gminie Karczmiska.

W latach 1975–1998 miejscowość administracyjnie należała do ówczesnego województwa lubelskiego.

Wieś stanowi sołectwo gminy Karczmiska.

Integralne części wsi

Historia
Nazwę Karczmiska II zaczęto wyróżniać w rozwijającej się wsi Karczmiska począwszy od roku 1923. Etymologia nazwy karczmiska wywodzi się zdaniem Kazimierza Rymuta od apelatywu karczmisko to jest – karczma czy też miejsce, gdzie stała karczma.

Przypisy

Karczmiska Drugie

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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ANIMAL VEGETABLE MINERAL 2007
ANGELA VALAMANESH
ANIMAL, VEGETABLE, MINERAL
EXHIBITION TEXT
Animal, Vegetable, Mineral, Artist Statement, 2007
'The series 'Animal, Vegetable, Mineral' 2007 grew from my observations of human anatomy as presented in medical and anatomical atlases that depict views of our bodies not normally seen by us. I became interested in how little we know of our bodies and how visually similar some of our body parts are to plants: root vegetables or cauliflowers!
Anatomical studies have been used extensively by artists over the years especially as reference points for figurative sculpture and portrait painting but early anatomists also made three dimensional wax models of body parts as teaching aids and these surprisingly durable and beautiful objects have also been inspirational.
More recently the imagery in my work has included enlargements of microscopic organisms. The work usually begins with what I think is an interesting image, sometimes developed from a drawing or photograph to a three dimensional form and scale which feels right. Often this will suggest the next object and a sequence is usually configured before all the finished pieces are in place.
The practice of building groups or arrangements has existed in my work for a number of years now and their linear qualities still remind me of the way letters form words or sentences on a page. Also in this more recent work the reference to the way specimens in collections are often presented to us is perhaps relevant.
Somehow the use of clay as the media for constructing these forms feels appropriate to the subject matter, something to do with it being such a common material that we are all connected to.
Angela Valamanesh, July 2007


* see part 16 for the full text of the hazard term.
The remaining ingredients belong to non-hazardous substances.
It can irritate eyes and skin.
Skin contact can cause allergies.
See part 11 for additional information.
Seek medical attention when you have questions or symptoms.
Never give food to an unconscious person.
Move the patient to a fresh air to keep him quiet and warm. If breathing is abnormal or stopped, artificial respiration should be carried out. If unconscious, keep him in a safe position and seek medical attention immediately. Do not feed anything.
Remove eyelid and rinse with plenty of clean fresh water for at least 10 minutes and seek medical attention.
Remove stained clothing and wash thoroughly with soapy water or an approved skin cleanser. Do not use solvents or thinner.
If swallowed carelessly, seek medical treatment immediately. Don't be nervous. Don't try to vomit.
Recommended fire extinguishing materials: water spray, dry powder, carbon dioxide or chemical foam.
Do not use water spray.
Note: flames can produce thick black smoke. Breaking down products can be harmful to health. Avoid exposure and use breathing equipment when appropriate. A closed vessel in a fire shall be cooled by spraying water. Water and pollutants generated during fire fighting shall not be discharged into sewers or rivers.
Keep away from fire and do not use unprotected electrical equipment.
Maintain ventilation to avoid inhalation of decomposing gases. Take personal protective measures as described in part 8.
Treat overflow with non-combustible materials such as sand, soil, vermiculite, etc. Placed in an outdoor closed container and disposed of in accordance with the relevant waste regulations (see part 13).
It's best to use detergent when cleaning. Do not use solvents.
It is strictly prohibited to pour the overflow into the drainage ditch or river channel.
If drains, sewers, rivers or lakes are contaminated, local water companies should be notified immediately. In case a river or lake is polluted, the environmental protection bureau should be informed.
No open fire or smoke is allowed in the storage area.
Avoid contact with skin and eyes. Comply with trademark precautions. Adopt the personal protective measures listed in part 8.
Smoking and diet should be prohibited in all preparation and construction areas.
The packing drum shall not be emptied by extrusion. The packing drum is not a pressure vessel.
No fire source (hot surface, spark, open fire, etc.) shall be found in the preparation and construction area.
Store in a well-ventilated dry place away from heat source and direct sunlight.
The packing drum should be tight. Open containers must be carefully sealed and kept upright. Put the product in the original packaging bucket or the same material packaging bucket.
Do not enter the storage area without approval.
Provide adequate ventilation. In general, the use of local exhaust ventilation and general ventilation can achieve practical ventilation. If these measures are not sufficient to keep particulate concentrations below occupational exposure limits, appropriate respirators must be worn.
When concentrations exceed the above exposure limits, workers must wear appropriate and approved respirators.
Wear safety goggles, goggles, or masks. Eye protection equipment shall meet the corresponding standards.
When mixing and construction, you should wear butae rubber gloves.
Work clothes covering all body, arms and legs should be worn. Skin should not be exposed. Isolation creams can help protect hard-to-cover skin, such as the face and neck. However, once exposed, it should not be used again. Mineral fat skin care products, such as vaseline, should not be used. Wash the whole body after contact with the product.
Stable under recommended storage and disposal conditions (see part 7). Exposure to high temperatures can result in harmful decomposition products, such as hydrogen sulfide, nitrogen oxides, and smog.
To avoid possible exothermic reactions, stay away from oxidants, strong bases, and strong acids.
There is no data available on the product itself.
Wu, large doses cause lipid oxidation and centrilobular necrosis, damage degree and is related to the level of TNF  gamma and endotoxin can alleviate by hydroxyl free radical scavenger. Exposed to more than described in the vapor of occupational exposure limit, may be harmful to health, such as lead to inflammation of the mucous membrane and respiratory system, and the kidneys, liver and central nervous system. Symptoms include headache, nausea, dizziness, fatigue, fatigue, lethargy and, in extreme cases, loss of consciousness. After repeated or prolonged exposure, the skin may lose its natural fat, become dry, inflamed, and may develop non-allergic contact dermatitis. Solvents can also be inhaled through the skin.
Products shall not enter sewers or rivers.
No access to sewers or rivers. Waste and empty containers shall be disposed of in accordance with relevant local regulations.
When using the information provided in this information, whether the special regulations on waste removal are applicable or not, the local waste removal management authorities shall be consulted.
Transport according to international transport regulations and national regulations.
The following information serves as a summary of the information contained in the MSDS.
The information in this security information is based on our current level of knowledge and current national laws.
Without prior written notice, the product shall not be used for any purpose other than those specified in the product information.
It is always the user's responsibility to take all necessary measures to comply with the requirements of the regulations.
R20/21 inhalation and skin contact are harmful.
R36/37/38 stimulates the eyes, respiratory system and skin.
R36/38 stimulates the eyes and skin.
R37 stimulates the respiratory system.
The R41 is at risk of serious eye damage.
R43 skin contact may cause allergies.
Harm of R65: if swallowed carelessly, it may cause respiratory organ damage.
R67 steam can cause lethargy and dizziness.
It is suggested that consumers should hand over their products to our local dealers or the qualified waste recovery or disposal department for disposal when the products are abandoned, so as to avoid environmental pollution and improve the utilization rate of data recovery.
Original research drugs, imitation drugs, biological agents: mantis catching cicadas, after the yellow finch?
Is there a greater opportunity for generic drugs in China?


"I would be so grateful if this award served as a beacon for those people whose experiences and views might otherwise not be included in official records," says Scheffler, such as part-time technical workers, activists, and Kendall Square residents. Read more at MIT News.
Assistant Professor Robin Wolfe Scheffler of MIT's Program in Science, Technology, and Society (STS) has been awarded the 2018 James A. (1945) and Ruth Levitan Prize in the Humanities.
Established through a gift from the late James A. Levitan, a 1945 MIT graduate in chemistry who was also a member of the MIT Corporation, the Levitan Prize was first awarded in 1990. The $30,000 prize is awarded annually as a research fund to support scholarship in the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences. All regular tenure track SHASS faculty are eligible to apply. Visit the Levitan Prize website.
Vivek Bald, associate professor of comparative media studies/writing, has been awarded the 2017 Levitan Prize in the Humanities, a $30,000 research grant that will support his work on a film and an interactive website documenting South Asian Muslims who immigrated to the United States from the 1890s through 1940s, a period in which Asians were excluded from the country by law.
Thomas Levenson, professor of science writing and director of MIT's Graduate Program in Science Writing, has been awarded the Levitan Prize in the Humanities. The grant will support his investigation into the economic, cultural, and scientific history of an 18th century financial crisis known as the South Sea Bubble.
Lily L. Tsai, associate professor of political science, has been awarded the 2015 Levitan Prize, which will support Tsai's study on improving citizen-government communication on urgent needs amidst the Ebola crisis in Liberia.


A busy voiceover is a happy one!
You are here: Home / Voice Over Blog / Voiceovers / A busy voiceover is a happy one!
– Working with a new TV station, providing on demand voiceover for promos.
– Did a sky dive – just as well there wasn't a microphone recording my voice when I jumped out of the plane at 10,000ft, definitely not for broadcast! It was the most amazing experience, free falling through the sky, went through a cloud – which was really cold, then the parachute kicks in and had the most amazing views over Oxfordshire. Thats me doing the jump in the picture.
– Lots of work done on the weightloss app, hopefully it'll be out soon.
As ever, drop me a line here if you've got any voice over requests or questions, always happy to help. You can hear recent voice over samples here.
Catch you soon, have fun.
https://neilwilliamsvoiceover.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/A-busy-voiceover-is-a-happy-one.jpg 1280 1920 Neil https://neilwilliamsvoiceover.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Logo.png Neil2013-10-09 11:34:572019-03-19 17:30:21A busy voiceover is a happy one!
How does a brace affect your speech? By a voice over!!!
The Right Tools - to be a voiceover contd.
Corporate Voice Over, Showreels and Christmas Update!
English Male Voice Over Artist.
Over 15 years' experience recording voiceovers for clients around the world from my studio in London, England.
Just a quick one….. Corporate Voice Over, Showreels and Christmas Update!


Australia is hiring a US Los Angeles class nuclear powered attack submarine commander to manage the building of our last century dinosaur diesel powered canoes that submerges now and then for a short period. They are not true submarines that can submerge for months on end and cruise at 30 knots and can be as silent as any submarine built with no need for cooling pumps at slow speed or stationary.
Rear Admiral Johnson wouldn't know the first thing about archaic diesel electric technology having been experienced in nuclear power plants for all his working life. He is the product of a modern navy. Australia is expecting him to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. How can he cope with the thought that these semi submarines will be being pushed backward by strong ocean currents probably as often as they go forward when travelling submerged at 4 to 5 knots?
Any honest advisor would be considering pooling resources with the US to establish a Virginia production line in Australia and Japan to produce Block 5 Submarines that will carry 40 cruise missiles with a fire and forget range of over a thousand miles.
Japan needs nuclear powered submarines with cruise missiles as well as its Soryu class submarines. Australia is a perfect fit for the tremendous advantages nuclear power gives to a submarine.
Japan could build 15 submarines, Australia 10 submarines and they could mesh fully with the 35 Virginia submarines the US intends to build.
This is what you call trilateral cooperation and anything less is just pussyfooting around the edges.
I agree with what you are saying. I saw you on Paul Murray Live and went straight to your website. I understand that you are busy businessmen, but as far as an opinion goes, why don't you/someone go straight to the submariners for their advise.
I know for a fact, in the Air Force, you ask any Aircraft/Avionics Technician about the (single engine) F-35 and they answer, it's a waste of time and money, and how long will it be before we crash one due to mid-air engine failure (whether it be mechanical, electrical, or pilot fault).
Most people and submariners I have talked to all agree about nuclear powered submarines over diesel, but some (now) pen pusher (ex-serving or not) have mistakenly decided the latter.
B – (possibly after a catastrophic failure) go down the expensive path of leasing for a short term.
In particular to defence, too many decisions are made by people/ministers etc, with absolutely no idea about what the end user requires. There was a joke email circulating on how to procure a new Military Working Dog. In a nutshell, the member asks for a new dog, they procure a cat and modify, rebuild, add to and try to 'create' a dog that isn't fit for the task, all while trying to save money, but then blowing out due to mods and upgrades. No one ever consults the actual mechanics/electricians/maintenance engineers/end-users. The defence typically only asks the "Generals," but the fact of the matter is, they haven't been apart of the working force for quite sometime.
The Japanese and Germans (both previously and enemy to the allied forces) are world class engineers, particularly in submarines, but now the deal is made, what leg does Australia stand on to even attempt to change out the contract. What an international debarkle it would create.
I'm sorry I've had to sign my name as anonymous, but could you please respect my decision.
I suppose one should first ask the question, what are we trying to achieve with this small class of submarine. It desperately needs to be openly discussed for public realization, that buying this toy will do little for the protection of this country from any real threat from a major power. If you want to scare off some canoes then go ahead. The submarines of the previous wars were diesel powered so theirs the first stumbling block for rethinking the situation. If you compared the Collins or this new purchase in size and ability to a real Submarine (nuclear powered) people would be amazed and some of those vessels have now been around for decades and still operational.
There seems to be a kids game going on of trying to convince the public that this class of submarine is in the same league as what the big guys have got afloat. The fact is we are a 1st world country by default and cant afford to buy into the real hardware required. We may get to build something at the end of the day, but as we physically dont make anything, every nut and bolt including the spanners, will most likely have to be purchased overseas. The whole episode is uninspiring and the country needs at this time in history, to appreciate if nothing else, its true allies who have right now, in the open seas, submarines with clout, and not try and punch above its weight. Let the truth be out.
The problem for a nuclear powered submarine is the reactor. Not the radiation or some kind like this but the size. The smallest possible size is today the French Suffren-/Barracuda-class submarines currently under construction. A 5,000 t submarine. That is still a big submarine even though ballistic missile submarines are much bigger.
Germany used at the heights of Cold War a submarine with a displacement of just 500 t – the Type 206 with armament 8 torpedoes and no reloads.
Price for a submarine can be scaled according to displacement. Germany was able to maintain and build 18 Type 206 submarines. About the price for two 5,000 t submarines. The Suffren-class will have space for about 24 weapons of 21 in size. In other words 48 torpedoes on two big submarines or 144 torpedoes on 18 submarines.
On a tactical scale the lose of one big submarine would half the fleet size. The loss of one small submarine out of 18 is not a big loss. Another point is how much area a submarine fleet can cover. Even a fast nuclear submarine can't be at two places at once. A fast submarine is also easy to detect due to the non laminar currents around the submarine hull. It doesn't matter how quiet the engine is high submerged speeds.
The US uses nuclear attack submarines to protect its carrier fleets. This is just wishful thinking. In many exercises the rouge diesel submarine was able either to kill the carrier or the submarine or both and escape unharmed.
For information gathering a big submarine is also inconvenient. It is easier to detect and in case of detection a much bigger loss.
Germany today operates the Type 212 @ 1,500 t. Due to fuel cells it can operate for 3 weeks submerged.
I would recommend even the smaller Type 210 @ 1,000 t displacement for Australia. Some say this size is not suitable for Australian needs and fabulate about range and such things. This small submarine has nearly the range of a Collins-class submarine. Just refuel the submarines at Christmas Island or Guam and they have more than sufficient range. Or even base them there. Forward basing is prohibited for Collins-class due to reliance issues. Forward basing would allow crew rotation at higher frequencies.
It is about 3,000 nm from Garden Island to the Coral Sea. About 100 hours or 4 days at 30 kn. Or just 750 nm from Brisbane (75 hours or 3 days travel at 10 kn). Some may remember the Russian fleet during the G20 meeting in 2014.
For the price of 12 submarines of 4,000 t displacement Australia could afford 48 submarines of 1,000 t. I think 24 would be enough. Still Australia could build one submarine each year and wreck them after 24 years of service. A mass production and ongoing production also enhances the maintenance of already built submarines. Maintenance costs for Collins-class is about the price of one new 1,000 t submarine a year.
A few submarines are much easier to predict for an enemy. At the moment one or two Collins are ready. Any enemy can easily predict where these few submarine could be and where they could not.
This is probably the best comment on Australia's submarine fiasco so far. The Type 212 sub is exceptional (18 days travelling submerged without snorkeling!) and about 1/4 the price with better performance. Its anti-air (IDAS) missiles also look worthwhile. A mix of (say) 6 Type 212s and another 10 smaller Type 206s (for coastal patrols) with forward basing would be better and cheaper than what we are going to get.
Indonesia is going to buy 3 excellent subs for $1 billion. How come they can do it but we can't? Corruption in the defence procurement department perhaps? It is just like spending $1.1 billion for 1000 armoured 4WDs! (Hawkei). A million $ each! No wonder illiterate Afghan peasants defeated us. The ADF hasn't got a clue. The episode of "Utopia" on the ABC could have been a documentary. Hopeless.
It was the ex defence minister not Abbott who didn't trust the ASC to build a canoe.
Abbott was the dill who sacked him for being honest.
Previous Previous post: SUBMARINE FIASCO?


The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) include 17 global initiatives launched by the United Nations in 2015 to address the challenges of poverty, hunger, poor health and education, climate change, gender inequality, insufficient access to water, sanitation, and energy, rapid unmanaged urbanization, environmental degradation and social injustice.
The Sustainable Development Goals provide a unifying basis for diverse groups in government, civil society, academia, and the private sector to work together. While a great deal of enthusiasm in some quarters has been generated, there are also naysayers who believe that the goals and targets of the SDGs are too ambitious and unrealistic. Therefore, it is important to underscore positive outcomes as they emerge as well as lessons learned and appropriate shifts in achievement strategies. For example, Baltic nations have created the Baltic 2030 Action Plan. In another case, the World Pensions Forum has observed that UK and European Union pension investors have been at the forefront of ESG-driven asset allocation at home and abroad and early adopters of "SDG-centric" investment practices.
l The UNDP and World Bank programme: "Economic governance, regulatory reform, public participation, and pro- poor development: 2009 – 2012". This was set up to help tackle Albania's water and sanitation problems, through the stimulation of and support to the cooperation between the Consumer Protection Commission (CPC) and the Water Regulatory Authority (WRA). The CPC and WRA jointly developed a "model contract" between the providers of water and sewerage services and their customers. The contract aimed to protect the immediate interests of consumers by integrating the provisions of the consumer protection law (Law No. 9902 of April 17, 2008, on Consumer Protection1), while at the same time protecting Albania's water and environmental resources by including relevant clauses of the country's water and sewerage code (No. 1304, dated December 11, 20092). The innovative aspects of this experience were: 1) the use of a consumer rights approach to address issues related to access and quality of water and sanitation; 2) the adoption of a multi-thematic approach, which combined the consumer rights and the water management themes; 3) the use of the contract between water companies and consumers as a means to educate both parties on their rights and obligations, with respect to environment protection; and 4) the use of the contract as an entry point to improve the quality of water and sanitation services.
l The intervention had the goal of contributing to the promotion of creative industries in Ayacucho, Cusco, Puno and Lambayeque, regions where much of the rural and indigenous population of Peru suffers from economic and social exclusion is concentrated. However, these regions have the potential to meet certain market demands, to generate inclusion, and to reduce poverty. The programme revolved around three main axes: 1) Improving the institutional environment by promoting public policies for the promotion of creative industries, strengthening the lead institutions at the local and regional level, and to bolster public-private structures. 2)Developing the abilities of small producers in sustainable creative industries, to contribute to increased income generation and market access through pilot projects and incubation centers for new businesses. 3) The willingness of counterparties and strategic partners to ensure the availability of products, tools, instruments and valid methodologies for the promotion of creative industries, as a means of ensuring the sustainability of actions.
lThe goal of the "Mainstreaming environmental governance: linking local and national action programme in Bosnia and Herzegovina" was to boost local management of environmental resources and service delivery by improving environmental governance and developing replicable models for environmental planning. In particular, a multi-pronged approach was chosen to target various stakeholders differently, with a heavy emphasis on the following sub-sectors: energy efficiency (EE), renewable energy sources (RES) and public buildings. The programme gave grants to municipalities to implement EE/RES projects and highlighted that several smaller-scale projects can have a greater impact as they allow for a decentralization of the benefits (energy savings, health improvements, local economic growth, "green jobs", awareness-raising, etc. to be spread across the country.
l Turkey experienced increased temperature and decreased precipitation due to the effects of climate change in the southern Mediterranean during the years preceding the start of the joint programme, "Enhancing the capacity of Turkey to adapt to climate change". Water availability for food production and rural development was limited, further exacerbating the social and regional disparities between the eastern and south-eastern provinces and the rest of the country. The Programme developed national capacity for managing climate change risks for rural and coastal development in Turkey by: 1) Mainstreaming climate change in the national development framework and reviewing the legal framework to support adaptation; 2) Building capacity in national and regional institutions; 3) Promoting pilot community-based adaptation projects, specifically in the Seyhan River Basin; and 4) Integrating climate change adaptation into all UN agencies in Turkey.
As one of the most influential partners on the global stage, China is ready to profoundly advance the achievements of the SDGs. In 2015, China's President, Xi Jinping, made a promise at the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit to work with the UN TO render the vision of sustainable development a practical reality. Shortly thereafter, at his request, several innovative sustainable development zones were launched in China: Guilin, Taiyuan and Shenzhen. Given that Shenzhen is well-known for its innovative advances in science and technology, the city is confident and eager to demonstrate its leadership in sustainable development and to share its knowledge and experience with cities that have similar aspirations.
Inspired by the audacious spirit of the SDGs, the increasing number of well-done projects executed under its banner, and President Xi Jinping's s promise, OGCLAB is honored to step firmly forward to collaborate with our partners to advance sustainable urban development and capitalize on emerging green innovations in science, technology, planning, development, finance, energy. urban services and management systems.
OGCLAB is well positioned in Shenzhen to serve as a laboratory for sustainable urban development and as a green forum to share knowledge, experience, and best practices. OGCLAB is, itself, a product of sustainable and innovative thinking. We have a minimal carbon footprint, as we have a green office, and we conduct our forums and exchanges principally on line.
For additional information regarding the OGCLAB, GMF, GCPS and IMCC, please visit our website at http://www.globalmayorsforum.org/. or http://www.hk-imcc.com/.


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Q: Drupal 7 password hash I have a bit of a dilemma here. I have a drupal 7 database table of users, with corresponding passwords. All these passwords have been naturally encrypted. My assumption is that these are MD5 hashes, but not quite.
The challenge here is that, we are utilizing the same set of users in a companion website that uses similar credentials but a different technology [please don't blame me for this, I a mere pawn].
Now if I knew how Drupal goes about encrypting its passwords, maybe I could decrypt them and apply the same in my backend logic?

A: Note that these passwords are hashed, not encrypted. The fundamental difference between hashing and encryption is that with encryption you would be able to recover the original password. You won't be able to do that when they are hashed (not without a lot of effort), and that's by design.
Think of hash browns: if you've made a hash brown, you won't be able to get the original potatoes back. This is done so that if a hacker compromises your system and gains access to the database, they won't be able to see or recover the original passwords.
So how does one check if the user entered the correct password? Well, when the user tries to log in and enters a password, you apply the same functions to the user input and see if the output is the same thing as what's stored in the database. Since hashing functions are deterministic, you'll always get the same output with the same input.
The key to getting multiple applications to work with the same hashes is have them use the same functions on the passwords when attempting to authenticate a user. Drupal probably also uses one or more salts - but that's not important. As long as the same logic is used by your applications, the hashes will be always fully compatible.
Suppose Drupal uses something like this as its authentication system (very simplified pseudo-ish code):
/*
    input: user-entered $username and $password
    output: true if authorized, false otherwise
*/
function auth($username, $password)
{
    $salt = 'some random salt';

    // input is sanitized somewhere, somehow
    $hash_from_db = db_result('SELECT hash FROM users WHERE username = "$username"');
    $hashed_input = sha1($password . $salt);

    if ($hash_from_db != $hashed_input)
        return false;
    else
        return true;
}

If your other application uses the exact same thing to authenticate its users, it will work fine. Note that Drupal's authentication scheme will probably be a lot more complex, but don't let that faze you. It's just about doing the same thing Drupal does.

For Drupal, here's where you can start: user_hash_password().

A: You can use drupal method to check the Plain text password is valid or not for this
user_check_password($password, $account) in includes/password.inc.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Barack Obama was born as 'Barack Hussein Obama' on August 4, 1961. He is currently serving as the 44th president of United States. He is the first president to be born in Hawaii, including being the first from the African-American origin. His father Barack Obama, Sr. belonged to the Luo ethnicity of Kenya and his mother, Stanley Ann Durham belonged to Wichita, Kansas. Barack was commonly called 'Barry' throughout his childhood and 'Hussein' is the middle name since his father adopted Islam, but they were originally Christians.
His parents met each other during college at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, where his father studied as a foreign student. His parents separated when Barack Obama was two years old and later divorced in 1964. His mother then brought him to stay with her at her parent's house in Manoa district. In the meantime, his father graduated with a 'Masters in Economics' degree from the Harvard University and went back to Kenya. Barack has five half brothers and two half-sisters from his father's other marriage. His father later became the 'finance minister' of Kenya and died in the year 1982 out of a car accident. Obama met his father only once before his death in 1971. On the other hand, Obama's mother got married to another Indonesian student from the Hawaii University called Lolo Soetoro. His mother then took him to Jakarta, Indonesia along with his step-father in the year 1967.
During his stay in Indonesia he attended all local Indonesian schools and soon after, he moved with his grandparents in Honolulu, Hawaii. Obama has admitted that he had a struggling childhood trying to find out answers about his multi racial and multicultural heritage. He used to find it complex to recognize such enormous differences between the skin colours of his father and his mother. He has also admitted of using marijuana, cocaine and alcohol during his teenage years.
Barack moved to Los Angeles after high school and studied for two years at the Occidental College. He then moved on to the Columbia College in New York where he majored in Political Science in 1983 along with a speciality in International relations. After spending four years in New York, Obama moved to Chicago and started working at the Business International Corporation with the NYPIRG (New York Public Interest Research Group). He also worked as a Community organizer for a church based community organization called the 'Developing Communities Project'. He worked as a director of this organisation for four years from 1985 to 1988. This is exactly where he got his organisational skills from and later travelled to Europe and Kenya for the first time.
He entered Harvard Law School in late 1988 because he felt that law was a medium that could facilitate community organization and activism. In 1990, which is his second year at college, he was chosen to be the editor of the Law Review. He worked as a training associate at 'Sidley and Austin' law firm while still in law school in 1989. This is where he met his wife Michelle Robinson, who was also a lawyer in that firm. He later worked at 'Hopkins and Sutter' in the year 1990 and then graduated from Harvard in 1991. He moved back to Illinois, Chicago and worked a civil rights lawyer. He was offered to write a book on racial relations by the University of Chicago and was also offered a fellowship from the university. Obama got married in the year 1992 and his mother Ann died of ovarian and uterine cancer in 1994. The book was published in the year 1995 with a name 'Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance' and ended up winning the Grammy for the audio version of this book. He occasionally taught Constitutional Law at the university and was a lecturer from 1992 to 1996; however he was a senior lecturer at the university until 2004. He was also on the board of directors for several organisations such as 'Chicago Lawyer's Committee', 'Chicago Annenberg Challenge', 'Woods Fund of Chicago', 'Lugenia Burns Hope Centre' and 'The Centre of Neighbourhood Technology'.
Barack Obama and Michelle Obama had their first daughter in 1998 named 'Malia Ann' and second daughter 'Sasha' in 2001. He published his second book called the 'Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream' in October 2006 and also won the Grammy for the audio version of this book. He is a talented writer and a dedicated basketball player. He is a major supporter of Chicago Bears and Chicago White Sox. Although he was raised in Islamic faith, Obama is an atheist by choice and his current family follows Christianity.
He had organized largest voter registration drives in the 1992 election under the 'Project Vote'. His work in this project led him to run for the Illinois State Senate and he was finally elected in November, 1996. With the U.S. senator Paul Simon, Obama passed the toughest campaign finance law in 1998. From the year 1997 to 2004, he went on to serve three terms in the Illinois State Senate. He lost to Bobby Rush in the year 2000, which was a primary run for U.S. House of Representatives. , he passed legislation to expand healthcare in the year 2003 to cover 70,000 children and extended health insurance to uninsured parents. Barack Obama created Illinois Earned Income tax credit that offered tax relief and also worked on several other legislation.
He came into national limelight on July 2004, with a motivational speech at the Democratic National Convention, where he openly condemned the administration policies of Bush on the Iraq War. His vocational skills are often compared to that of John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther. He started thinking about running for U.S. Senate by middle of 2002 and later announced his candidacy in the year 2003. He won the election on 2nd November, 2004 and finally made it to the US Senate. He became the fifth African American senator in the history of United States and resigned from the Illinois State Senate. Obama held minority appointments till 2006 and took major assignments in 2007. He personally visited Iraq to witness the war and introduced a legislation to end the war in 2007. He sponsored a total of 136 bills in the Senate, out of which two of them have been officially announced as laws in the US Government.
Barack Obama declared his candidacy for the 'Democratic Presidential' nomination in February 2007 and out of all the candidates that had filed their nominations, the only two left were Barack Obama and Senator Hilary Clinton. Obama became the presumptive nominee on the 3rd of June 2008. Obama accepted the nomination in August 2008 against the republican nominee, John McCain. Thousands of supporters witnessed the historic win on November 4th, 2008.
This entry was posted on Monday, November 30th, 2009 at 5:01 am	and is filed under Political Leaders. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Are You A Human? : Please Enter Sum Of 7 + 8 ?


text:
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dambuster - stock.adobe.com
MoD seeks security tech to harden military systems
The Defence and Security Accelerator has launched a programme to root out technology that will reduce the military's exposure to cyber attacks
Alex Scroxton, Security Editor
Published: 18 Aug 2021 12:45
The Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) has launched a new Innovation Focus Area, or IFA, to seek out and develop technologies that will reduce the Ministry of Defence's (MoD's) exposure to cyber attacks on its systems and platforms.
Dubbed Reducing the cyber attack surface, the new IFA is being run on behalf of the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) and Defence Science and Technology (DST), and is now open to applications, with the process closing on 20 October 2021.
The UK's defence sector currently has a large, integrated network of legacy security technologies giving malicious actors a substantial and diverse attack surface to have a pop at, and the scheme will supposedly "accelerate next-generation hardware and software technologies" to address vulnerabilities in networks and systems.
DASA said it expects to fund proposals within Technical Readiness Level 4 to 7, for up to £300,000 across a nine-month contract period.
Proposals will need to demonstrate how they will achieve a technical demonstrator by the end of the 2023 fiscal year, should further funding be made available. More details are available here.
The brief seeks technologies that can be intelligently applied to reduce the chance of successful cyber attacks; can raise the barrier to entry for hostile actors and give the UK military confidence and assurance that it can withstand cyber-enabled attacks; and are novel and applicable across a class of attack surface, as opposed to tailored to specific threats.
It is not seeking off-the-shelf products that will not need experimental development, or anything that offers no real prospect of integration into the UK's defence and security capabilities, or offers no real prospect of out-competing extant products and services.
Read more about cyber security and digital in the MoD
The Ministry of Defence has formally "stood up" a dedicated cyber security regiment tasked with protecting the UK's defence networks both at home and on overseas operations.
The Ministry of Defence has launched a 10-year digital strategy, focusing on creating a digital backbone and enabling the department to exploit data and innovation.
AI and cyber capabilities have formed part of the government's integrated review of security, defence, development and foreign policy.
Commenting on the new scheme's launch, Talion chief operating officer Keven Knight said: "This is a great initiative from the MoD as it is encouraging software and hardware providers to start thinking about security and vulnerabilities at the beginning of the product development cycle, rather than bolting things on at the end.
"However, the one thing to note is that just because a product is developed with security in mind and vulnerabilities are addressed in the early stages, doesn't mean the product will always be free from security bugs," he said. "First, if these products are connected to networks and the internet, this will open them up to all the threats we are facing today.
"Second, it is virtually impossible to make an absolutely perfect product, where no vulnerabilities exist. This is because these products are built by humans, and humans are imperfect.
"Ultimately, the MoD should never let its guard down and should continue to monitor these products for vulnerabilities and security issues in the same way they do with other equipment," said Knight.
A wave of high-profile security incidents affecting elements of critical national infrastructure in the past 18 months has thrown a spotlight on how hostile nation states use technology against Britain and its allies to cause disruption to national life. Military systems are no less vulnerable to such incidents and almost certainly draw great volumes of attacks that are never disclosed.
As part of a broader package of responses to this threat, the UK is currently in the process of developing a 250-strong cyber security regiment, the 13th Signals, created in 2020, alongside a cyber security defence force.
More recently still, the MoD has announced a major digital funding package including more money for cyber defences, and earlier this year ran its first ever bug bounty challenge with HackerOne, which led to the discovery of a number of security vulnerabilities, ranging from authentication bypass issues to misconfigured systems.
Read more on Hackers and cybercrime prevention
UK government launches information assurance unit for defence
By: Angelica Mari
UK MoD turns to hackers to help secure digital assets
By: Sebastian Klovig Skelton
MoD partners playing fast and loose with confidential data
Government on the hunt for telexistence tech
UK government launches information assurance unit for... – ComputerWeekly.com
Dasa awards AI warship contracts – ComputerWeekly.com
UK military at risk of cyber attack, warn MPs – ComputerWeekly.com


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PA Board Votes Down Guarantee for 3WTC, But Paves Way For Tower To Rise
By Scott Klocksin	June 25, 2014 6:11 pm
A rendering of 3 World Trade Center
The Board of Commissioners of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey voted unanimously today for a new financing scheme for the completion of office tower 3 World Trade Center, but stopped short of issuing a $1.2 billion loan guarantee.
SEE ALSO: Moët Hennessy Ditching Chelsea for 7 WTC
The plan retains most of the funding provisions in the original 2010 agreement between the Port Authority, which owns the 16-acre site, and Silverstein Properties, which is developing it.
Under the terms decided on today, the amount needed to complete the project will not be guaranteed by the Port Authority, a significant political defeat for the developers.
Instead, the Board's agreement makes several relatively minor changes to the existing agreement, including a $10 million increase in the existing public sector support to be used for any potential cost overruns to the project, and other measures designed to speed the flow of funds to finish construction on the tower, which is currently stalled. The structure's nine-story base is finished, and its design calls for a total of 80 floors.
Today's vote over whether to adopt the re-vamped financing package comes after months of wrangling among the agency, the developer and the public. At issue was whether to increase the share of private financing in the project's capital stack to protect the agency from financial risk, or to expedite completion of the tower by providing more money from the agency's coffers. Some board members have argued that the World Trade Center project is a diversion from the agency's core mandate of maintaining transportation infrastructure in the region.
"We remain confident that we will nail down a construction financing package that will allow us to complete the project," Larry Silverstein, whose development firm Silverstein Properties has controlled the site since 2001, said in a prepared statement following the announcement of the new financing plan.
Scott Rechler, who has been chairman of the Port Authority's board since succeeding former chairman David Samson in the wake of the George Washington Bridge scandal, has been a staunch proponent of issuing a $1.2 billion loan guarantee to Silverstein properties.
"I do believe, for the Port Authority, finishing the World Trade Center is part of our mission," Mr. Rechler said. "And we as an agency can't rest until that mission is accomplished."
While Mr. Rechler was not able to garner the votes for the guarantee, he did vote in support of today's proposal, which should nonetheless expedite the project.
Of course, there are detractors. Many have criticized the amount of public money spent on the World Trade Center sites and questioned how wise it would be to tie up additional Port Authority funds building an office downtown, where a glut of office space has risen recently.
"I have not been a supporter of Mr. Silverstein's," said William Schuber, chairman of the Board's finance committee. "This is it. I will not support any other amendment on [Mr. Silverstein's] part for him on this deal."
The advertising and media giant GroupM is so far the lone tenant signed up to lease space in the still-unfinished building. GroupM's 515,000-square-foot office will comprise 20 percent of the total office square footage in the 80 story tower, according to a spokesman for Silverstein Properties.
The building's ability to attract more tenants currently looks relatively strong. According to a report released by CBRE earlier this month, the pace of year-to-date office leasing in Downtown Manhattan was 38 percent higher than this time last year.
Time Inc. also recently announced a move in to a new headquarters in lower Manhattan, further underscoring the area's palatability as an office destination for an increasingly diverse cross-section of industries.
Once complete, the post 9/11 reincarnation of the 16-acre World Trade Center site is slated to include 1.2 million square feet of office space and 440,000 square-feet of retail space in this tower, One World Trade and 4 World Trade. One and 4 World Trades have both struggled to secure tenants, as reported.
Silverstein Properties could not be reached for additional comment.
Keywords: 3 World Trade Center, Larry Silverstein, Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, Silverstein Properties


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Q: vase question probability I got a problem with probability.
Two vases are not distinguishable (V1 and V2). V1 contains 3
red, 5 white and 7 blue balls. V2 contains 7 red, 5 white and 3 blue balls.
Someone takes a ball from V1 and puts it in V2 unseen. One draws randomly a ball from V2. This ball is red. What is the probability that the ball, unseen from V1 in V2 is laid, is white?
This is what I thought: Probability = P(White ball AND V1) / P(V1) = (5/30) / (15/30).
I feel I need to do something with the red ball that is taken. But I don't know what.
Thanks,
Bob

A: This is a Bayes' Theorem question.  Let $A$ be the event that the ball transferred from $V_1$ to $V_2$ was white, and $B$ the event that the ball removed from $V_2$ was red.  You want to find the conditional probability $P(A|B)$.  You need to find $P(A)$, $P(B|A)$ and $P(B|A^c)$ and put them into the Bayes formula.


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It was a warm, sticky night, one of those summer nights when, even with the windows open, it was difficult to breathe. When Darcy finally managed to drift off, after what seemed like hours of waiting in vain for sleep to overcome him, a thunderclap roused him. He trudged to the windows to close them. The rain provided no relief from the heat; quite the opposite. With the windows closed, the room grew even more oppressive. His brief periods of slumber were flooded with torrid dreams that ended in disappointment. In one particularly vivid dream, he thought Elizabeth was running towards him, but as he reached out to embrace her, he realized she was looking behind him at Wickham. In the dream, he was compelled to look on as Wickham came forward to seize her and plant his lips on hers.
Darcy sat up in his bed and ran his hands over his face in despair. Now both Wickham and Elizabeth were invading his dreams. Even if he was able to control his thoughts in the daytime, he could not control them at night.
It simply would not do. Something had to be done about it before long or he feared for his sanity.
The only way he would be able to forget Elizabeth was to replace her with a real-life bride. The problem was he did not wish to be hasty in his choice. He could not allow himself to be ruled either by passion or desperation. He wanted to choose calmly and rationally.
What then was he waiting for?
The sooner he decided what an ideal bride for Pemberley should be like, the sooner he could begin his search.
Full of determination, he rose and dressed without the assistance of his valet. Sequestering himself in the library, he sat at his desk, sharpened a quill, and began to write.
List of Requirements for a Wife:
EXCERPT: MR. DARCY'S PLEDGE


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Our Products >> "Complete DVD Catalog" >> DVD - I >> ISLAND MONSTER (1954)/ CHAMBER OF FEAR (1968) - DVD
ISLAND MONSTER (1954)/ CHAMBER OF FEAR (1968) - DVD
THE ISLAND MONSTER (1953) Stars Boris Karloff. Well, let's not beat around the bush....it's terrible! Boris looks like he's putting in a credible job, but it's hard to tell as his voice is dubbed by someone else. This is an Italian film dealing with a band of drug smugglers, secret agents, murder and kidnapping. Karloff plays one of the nasty guys in the dope ring. For tried and true Karloff fans and collector's of film oddities.
CHAMBER OF FEAR (also known as: THE FEAR CHAMBER/1967) Stars Boris Karloff. One of Karloff's final four Mexican films. A living rock-like alien demands blood and Karloff accomodates. Low budget weirdness from South-Of-The-Border!
Manufacturer: Image


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by Madison Ruppert
Editor of End the Lie
from EndTheLie Website
Previously I reported on the New York school system's move to not only ban words but entire topics and concepts from their tests as if that would somehow make facts of life like poverty disappear.
I found this especially insane since it was essentially based on the assumption that if an incredibly impoverished child didn't have to answer questions that included poverty on a test, they would somehow forget about the empty dinner table they have to go home to.
Obviously this is so absurd that it is truly hard to believe that anyone is actually imbecilic enough to believe such a thing makes any sense whatsoever.
Unfortunately, it is not just the United States which is plagued by bureaucrats seeking to control speech.
Indeed, recently it was reported that teachers in a small town in British Columbia have been informed that they cannot display quotes from the popular children's author Ted Geisel (better known as Dr. Seuss), supposedly because they are political messaging.
I always suspected that "green eggs and ham" was actually about environmentalism and police, and thankfully it appears that the bureaucrats overseeing the town of Prince Rupert have uncovered these hidden meanings and are now protecting our children from them.
After all, there could never be such a thing as whimsical and humorous children's books without an ulterior motive or hidden message, right?
Of course, Dr. Seuss actually did include some much deeper and more important concepts than just oddly colored eggs, but last time I checked it was a good thing to challenge young minds and encourage them to think critically.
One such work was Horton Hears a Who which has been said to subtly deal with issues of prejudice and civil rights while The Lorax is seen as a cautionary tale about the dangers of ignoring environmental degradation.
Hilariously (although unsurprisingly), Fox News claimed that the Lorax film based on the Dr. Seuss book released this year was trying to,
"indoctrinate our children" with an "anti-industry message."
Don't you just love how the establishment media - which increasingly spews out intellectually bankrupt garbage like never before - can create conspiracy theories with absolutely no evidence whatsoever, while anyone pointing to real evidence of real conspiracies throughout history is painted as a loon?
This all started with Bill 22, which came into effect in March 2012 and ended the teachers' strike and brought in a mediator:
Teachers & Allies Rally to Stop Bill 22
March 2012, Victoria BC
by bandcroft
From the BC Federation of Labour website (http://bcfed.ca)
"Today the BC Liberal Government has introduced Bill 22, imposing 2 years of no wage increases and seeking significant concession from teachers regarding learning conditions and professional development. At the same time, the BC Liberals eliminate teachers' right to job action. After three terms this tired government has not learned anything when it comes to respecting workers' democratic rights."
Teachers have been protesting in the typically aggressive manner in which teachers operate - by wearing T-shirts, signs and bumper stickers expressing their disappointment.
A 1st grade teacher at Prince Rupert elementary school was told that she could be disciplined for wearing a Dr. Seuss quote on her clothing or vehicle while on school property.
What was the quote they deemed so offensive?
"I know, up on the top you are seeing great sights, but down here at the bottom we, too, should have rights."
Some might remember this line from the book Yertle the Turtle when Yertle organizes his fellow turtles to stand on top of each other so Yertle can climb to the top and see a great distance.
This was far from an isolated incident.
As of late April, eight teachers in this particular school district had been issued letters informing them that they could face disciplinary actions for allegedly displaying political messages.
According to the president of the Prince Rupert District Teachers' Union Joanna Larson, this is because the administrators do not want to let students even see these messages.
"We feel very censored here right now. We have feelings that our rights to freedom of expression have been violated," Larson said.
I wouldn't qualify that as a feeling, as it is a clear, objective fact.
Their rights to freedom of expression are indeed being violated in a truly absurd manner.
Other teachers who are trying to avoid getting the letters - which sound eerily like threats - have to park away from the school's property in order to continue to display their bumper stickers in opposition to Bill 22.
"If they try to use a heavy-handed approach, we just have more people trying to exercise civil disobedience," Larson said.
However, what they're doing is probably the least aggressive form of civil disobedience possible.
This makes me see their suppression of dissent amongst the teachers that much more insane.
It is important to note that indeed Geisel had a political bent, evidenced by his work as a political cartoonist, although I think it is equally important to note that very few young children could likely recognize these messages without having them pointed out to them.
If the administration could show that 1st graders were able to tease out the deeper meanings in Horton Hears a Who or The Lorax, they might have grounds to do this, but I seriously doubt many youngsters are capable of that literary analysis.
Judith Morgan wrote a book on Geisel entitled Dr. Seuss and Mr. Geisel, and she says that he was indeed writing about the evils of,
"greed and destruction of the planet and narrow-minded, close-minded types."
"Seuss' work continues to resonate with kids and parents because it is honest; it battles prejudice; it sends the imagination soaring and fits the wonder of a young child's mind and dreams," Morgan added.
She said that banning the Dr. Seuss quote is,
"very upsetting" to teachers and "it's the ridiculous nature of it that makes it almost unbelievable."
I couldn't agree more, as Dr. Seuss books still line the walls of countless libraries and the bookshelves of many children who enjoy the stories not because they speak to their inner revolutionary but because they are incredibly imaginative and enjoyable.
There might be an even larger point here, which Larson brings to the fore in saying that the ludicrous actions of the administration perfectly exemplify the "ridiculous human nature" Dr. Seuss wrote about.
"This is why he did what he did," she said. "I think he would think it's absurd."
All I can say is that I hope the administration comes to the realization that they're making themselves look like the antagonist of a Dr. Seuss book in what must be one of the most nonsensical actions taken by a school bureaucracy in recent times.
Political Correctness or Political Insanity?
- New York City Schools Ban Words and Topics From Tests -
(Image credit: biologycorner/Flickr)
If anyone needed a single case to point to in order to show that political correctness has gone completely insane here in the United States, this is it. With the rise of such practices, we also see the growth of the "nanny state" which seeks to control every aspect of our lives.
The New York City Department of Education has banned several words in an attempt to be as politically correct as possible, although I see it as pure imbecilic nonsense.
There are some 50 words which are officially banned from being used on tests given to students by the city, the banning of which is outright absurd.
Some of the more insane choices are:
references to disease
creatures from outer space,
...and many more.
In fact, it is not just these words that are banned, but indeed the entire topic cannot be included on any tests administered by the city.
This is supposedly because such references,
"could evoke unpleasant emotions in the students," according to the New York Post.
These subjects were outlined in a request for proposals which was given to companies who compete to create standardized tests for English, math, science and other subjects which are administered multiple times per year.
Dinosaurs are banned because they supposedly might offend people who do not believe in evolution, yet this makes little to no sense given that even the most fundamentalist creationists seem to realize that there were, indeed dinosaurs.
Even the so-called "Creation Museum" in Petersburg, Kentucky includes a dinosaur exhibit called the "Dinosaur Den." The only people who refuse to recognize that dinosaurs existed are likely delusional or potentially insane.
If the people behind the Creation Museum can agree that dinosaurs existed, as they actually have "a number of real fossilized dinosaur eggs, a Hadrosaur tibia, [and a] Triceratops skeleton casting," on display, who out there refuses to acknowledge their existence?
Words suggesting either wealth or poverty are banned because they could supposedly make children feel jealous or saddened. I guess the New York City Department of Education believes that if you pretend it doesn't exist, it simply doesn't exist.
Seems to me that the Department of Education has a great deal in common with ostriches and babies under 7-9 months who have yet to develop object permanence, according to Piaget's Stages of Cognitive Development.
This head-in-the-sand approach is also applied to divorces and diseases, since students might have divorced parents or might be sick in one way or another.
I guess they believe that if students don't read the word "divorce" or anything to do with it, they'll simply forget that their parents are divorced. That makes about as much sense as thinking that if no one says "cancer" or "disease" suddenly no one in the world will have cancer.
However, the Department of Education insists that this is not censorship and that this is a completely routine, typical practice
Unfortunately, our government has proven time and time again that they're not the most competent individuals when it comes to logic and critical thinking.
"Some of these topics may be perfectly acceptable in other contexts but do not belong in a city- or state-wide assessment," the request said.
Unfortunately, New York City is not alone and such "sensitivity guidelines" have actually been published by a group of states.
They said that tests should not mention group dancing, various luxuries, junk food, homelessness and even witches.
"This is standard language that has been used by test publishers for many years and allows our students to complete practice exams without distraction," a Department of Education spokesperson said, as reported by the Post.
However, this fails to address the fact that New York City's list is almost twice the length of those produced by others and has even fewer exceptions.
It is my humble opinion that censoring any topic from a standardized test (within reason, of course, as explicitly violent or erotic material obviously has no place on a school test) is nothing short of absurd and represents some of the more troubling ways the American "nanny state" has reared its ugly head.
According to the list, tests cannot mention homes with swimming pools and computers or anything which could be construed as potentially "disrespectful to authority or authority figures."
Even more insane, they are not allowed to personify animals or inanimate objects, which makes even less sense than most of the items.
According to officials, this is not necessary an absolute ban, as some items can be included on exams but only on a case-by-case basis.
"The intent is to avoid giving offense or disadvantage any test takers by privileging prior knowledge," Robert Pondiscio, a spokesman for the Core Knowledge Foundation, said to the Post.
"But the irony is they're eliminating some subjects, like junk food, holidays and popular music, that the broadest number of kids are likely to know quite a lot about," he added.
"If the goal is to assess higher-order thinking skills, controversial topics, for example, ones that are the subject of political debate, are exactly what students should be reasoning about," Deanna Kuhn, a professor at the Teachers College at Columbia University, aptly pointed out, according to the Post.
One of the most common justifications for these nonsensical practices is that they are attempting to avoid offending people of certain religious beliefs.
birthdays are banned since Jehovah's Witnesses do not celebrate them
witches and Halloween are banned since they could be interpreted as pagan
terrorism is banned because it might be scary
If you're absolutely astounded by these choices, you're not alone.
I honestly can't even believe that such a thing is true, but I guess it goes to show just how far our country has gone down the rabbit hole of political correctness and the freedom-crushing nanny state.
Return to The Controlled Global Education


The U.S. credit reporting system keeps detailed financial histories on more than 200 million Americans. Evan Hendricks' Credit Scores & Credit Reports is a well-informed, informative, and well-written guide to a subject of great and growing importance to consumers. Hendricks, a foremost privacy expert, examines in detail the credit scoring and credit reporting systems and helps consumers understand what they can do to improve their credit scores and ensure that their credit reports are accurate. Hendricks also explains how the system sometimes doesn't work and how consumers have been frustrated in their efforts to correct errors in their credit reports. According to Hendricks, there is also a link between credit reports and the burgeoning problem of identity theft.
Other topics include: how credit card companies use credit scoring to raise your interest rates; the role of credit scores in auto and homeowners insurance; the difference between mortgage rates for consumers with excellent, good, fair and poor credit scores; the damages to consumers and their creditworthiness flowing from credit report inaccuracy and identity theft ; credit reports and debt collection; the debate over credit scoring and discrimination; the politics of credit reporting.


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Kitty és una pel·lícula estatunidenca dirigida per Mitchell Leisen estrenada el 1945. És una pel·lícula d'època ambientada a Londres durant la dècadade 1780, basada en la novel·la del mateix nom de Rosamond Marshall (publicada el 1943), amb guió de Karl Tunberg.
Està protagonitzada per Paulette Goddard, Ray Milland, Constance Collier, Patric Knowles, Reginald Owen i Cecil Kellaway com el pintor anglès Thomas Gainsborough. En una àmplia interpretació de la història de Pygmalion de George Bernard Shaw, la pel·lícula explica la història de la pobresa a la riquesa d'una jove noia del carrer, cockney.

Argument
Londres, . Fent-se passar per casualitat com a model del pintor Gainsborough, Kitty, una jove prostituta, atreu l'atenció de l'alta societat. Una de les millors actuacions de Paulette Goddard.

Repartiment
 Paulette Goddard: Kitty
 Ray Milland: Sir Hugh Marcy
 Patric Knowles: Brett
 Reginald Owen: Duc de Malmunster
 Cecil Kellaway: Thomas Gainsborough
 Constance Collier: Lady Susan Dowitt
 Dennis Hoey: Jonathan Selby
 Sara Allgood: La vella Meg
 Eric Blore: Dobson
 Gordon Richards: Sir Joshua Reynolds
 Michael Dyne: Príncep de Gal·les
 Edward Norton: Comte de Campton
 Patricia Cameron: Elaine Carlisle
 Percival Vivian: Dr. Holt
 Mae Clarke: Molly
 Mary Gordon: Nancy
 Doris Lloyd (no surt als crèdits): La peixatera

Nominacions
 1947. Oscar a la millor direcció artística per Hans Dreier, Walter H. Tyler, Sam Comer i Ray Moyer

Referències

Pel·lícules dels Estats Units del 1945
Pel·lícules dramàtiques dels Estats Units
Pel·lícules dels Estats Units en blanc i negre
Pel·lícules basades en novel·les
Pel·lícules dirigides per Mitchell Leisen


I hate meetings as much as the next guy, but lately it's really getting ridiculous. Sure, people show up, and maybe even on time, but hardly anyone is present. They're way too busy texting under the table, or openly checking their emails on their mobile devices.
Whether they're closing the deal of lifetime, checking Facebook or trolling on Match.com, I don't care. It's all the same. They have subtracted themselves from the meeting and their attention is elsewhere. Which means that whatever we're meeting on (like how to improve employee engagement) is not getting their full attention. And we're not getting the benefit of any great ideas they might have that would address the problem and get us out of the meeting…quickly!
Mental meanderings at meetings are nothing new, but somehow doodling and daydreaming seem far less intrusive. We've got to set up some guidelines for acceptable behavior. There's the "No Phone Zone" in the car. Maybe we need to extend it to meetings. The danger here is not about getting into a car accident. Instead it's about potentially alienating and offending our co-workers (you know, those same people we need to work with to get the job done).
How are you handling "subtraction by smartphone" in your workplace?


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Mary McCague - Violin
Mary McCague is known by her fellow Affinitíans as the 'girly' one in the group. She grew up in the sea-side village of Blackrock in Co. Louth, (the smallest county in Ireland!) Both parents were musicians so it didn't take long for Mary to find herself sitting in front of a piano with a violin under her chin! She started violin lessons at the age of four with the inimitable Rev. Brendan McNally and went for a piano audition to renowned international pianist John O'Conor at the age of five whom she subsequently studied with. She got a taste for showbiz at the age of eight with every child's dream, a live performance on the Late Late Toy Show. Since then, Mary has performed regularly on the Late Late Show (and on stage) with big name acts such as Michael Bublé, Westlife, Kanye West, Il Divo, Katherine Jenkins, Rod Stewart and Leona Lewis, amongst others. She holds a particular soft spot for Michael Bublé…
Mary has won many awards and accolades for her playing and has freelanced with all the professional orchestras in Ireland, in addition to performing at music festivals throughout Ireland and Europe. She holds a first class honours degree in Music and Irish from Trinity College Dublin, where she was also awarded scholarship of the college. In addition, she holds a Masters in Music Performance from the Royal Irish Academy of Music, also with first class honours.
Mary loves composition and orchestration, and enjoys nothing more than turning a rock anthem on its head and making it an Affinití classic.