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Excerpt – Birthrite Series #1
Posted on March 19, 2016 by Roma Gray
For the next few days I'm going to be participating in a blog hop! Find more fun articles a the following
http://francishpowellauthor.weebly.com/st-patricks-day-blog-hop.html
Today we have an excerpt from author Tiffany Apan's The Birthrite Series
DESCENT (THE BIRTHRITE SERIES, #1)
Visions of infant twin boys, clouds, a young woman taking her own life, and a collision of space, time, and realms…
On the eve of Summer Solstice in 1844, four men in different areas of the world share an experience that impacts not only their own lives, but those of the future generations. The first man is Nicolae Ganoush, a young Romany fugitive from a slave village in Wallachia. The second is Jonathan Blake, an eighteen-year-old Irishman in the American Midwest who finds himself falling in love with a young woman from a nearby Sioux village. The third is James Livingston, a prominent figure in colonial America, and the fourth is Hector de Fuentes, a sixteen-year-old from Tuxpan, Mexico with special gifts and visions enhanced by a mysterious and wondrous cave. Each man carries his own inner battle, unbelievable ancient truths deep within their lineages, and demons that are much closer to home than any of them would like.
Later in 1931, seventeen-year-old Dorothy Blake, a descendant of Jonathan and his Sioux wife, is living in Plains, New York, the town founded by James Livingston. The notorious Fleming Orphanage has long fallen into disuse but kept by the town as a landmark. The buildings loom high on a hill, overlooking the town, taunting the townsfolk with its lore. On Halloween night, Dorothy ventures up with friends, and the group of six expects nothing more than a good time along with a few laughs. But they fall into a dark, brutal evil; one that extends beyond the orphanage and town of Plains, far back into history. Their descent is only the beginning…
The Birthrite Series is an epic journey into the vast unknown, plunging deep into the dark crevices of the mind, begging the question of what sanity really is and if the insane truly are. Are we really shown the whole truth of what surrounds us or is it an illusion? It also tells of deep-rooted love, planted centuries ago and a story of family, forgiveness, and redemption.
Blue early morning light filtered into Dorothy's bedroom. Throughout the night, sleep was sporadic, littered with unexplanable and bizarre images. Aunt Roxanne's image appeared among dark cyclones and thunderheads as she continued to speak though was never able to be heard. Droplets of blood dripped from a dagger before Dorothy awoke.
Remnants of her feverish sweating along with the vision of Roxanne remained as she lay on her back, eyes fixed to the dreamcatcher. Her nightgown was soaked through, but she made no effort to change.
She turned her head toward the vase that still held Carl's rose. Beside it was the corsage he gave her prior to the dance. Taking in a jagged breath, she lifted her hand to view the now soggy strip of paper. Roxanne's cryptic message was smudged, though still legible. Dorothy studied it with weary eyes as her mother's words echoed back to her: "My sister told me to give this to you the first time a boy gave you a flower."
Suddenly, that familiar ominous presence started to seep in through the walls in the same subtle, though noticeable fashion as cold morning air would through a window pane. Chills rose on her body as invisible eyes stared down at her. She tried lifting her head in an attempt to sit, but her body was like lead. Her soft breath grew rapid as panic surged. She struggled again at picking herself up, but to no avail. The sense of another presence in the room was heightening.
Finally, she seemed to budge and raised herself rather fluidly. Relief began calming her as she turned on her elbow to view the clock, but then stopped at what she saw. In her peripheral, she could see her body lying flat, still, and staring upward.
She wanted to cry out, but it was as though cold, dead hands had closed around her throat, paralyzing any movement. In the deafening silence the air started to hum, and as she listened, the humming resembled a human voice.
Her gaze shifted toward her full length mirror where a small body was seated on the floor, hunched over and rocking back and forth.
Dorothy strained for a better look, but thick strands of dark, matted hair hid the other's face and a small frame was lost inside a soiled, white nightgown. Back and forth, the figure rocked. Rocking as a female voice hummed nothing in particular. The figure seemed to shift between sitting on the inside and outside of the mirror. Ringing in Dorothy's ears accompanied the humming as the speed of the other's rocking increased. Then with a sudden, jolting movement, its head shot up and turned in Dorothy's direction.
Dorothy stared in horror as she immediately recognized the person's face.
She bolted up in her bed, finally able to take in deep breaths. Golden sunlight had instantly replaced the cold blue and the space in front of the mirror was now empty.
A sigh escaped her as she brought a hand to her throat. A look at the clock caused her to frown. Only seconds ago, the hands pointed at a time two hours earlier. The telltale sounds of her mother downstairs in the kitchen had replaced the silence (and the humming).
"Only a dream…" Her voice sounded scratchy and her mouth was dry, as though several wads of cotton were lodged in her throat.
She grabbed the glass of water her mother had apparently left for her on the nightstand and gulped it down. It made her feel slightly better and she decided that a bath was in the cards.
Slowly, she rose out of bed, steadying herself before making her way to the closet for her robe. On the way, she noticed her hand still clutched the small slip of paper with Aunt Roxanne's scrollings. The ink was now smudged through and almost unreadable, yet the message seemed to pulse with life on the parchment.
Dorothy tucked it in the top drawer of her desk and turned once more to regard the space in front of the full-length mirror. Juliette…
Retrieving her robe, she headed to the washroom.
Tiffany's Websites:
http://tiffanyapan.com
http://tiffanyapanwritingproject.blogspot.com
http;//facebook.com/tiffanyapanfanpage
http://facebook.com/birthriteseries
http://twitter.com/TIFFANYAPAN
http://youtube.com/tiffanyapan
http://amazon.com/tiffanyapan
http://goodreads.com/tiffanyapan
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/tiffanyapan
Tiffany's Official Blog
My music projects are available at CDBaby
My filmwork is on IMDb
"The Birthrite Series" and other books at Smashwords and Barnes & Noble NOOK
My books and music are also on Amazon and iTunes
Tiffany on Goodreads
Support great authors and independent bookstores at Smashwords and Indiebound


The embellished neckline, pleated skirt, and gorgeous coral colour of this dress make me think early 60s Las Vegas style glamour.
It wants an elaborate chignon, pale lips and huge eyelashes, along with a cocktail to keep it company.
Definitely one for lounging by the pool in.


GlobaI Information Communications Technology, solutions provider, Huawei, is identifying with its consumers this Valentine season as it launched its flagship device, Honor 7x in red colour to excite device lovers in the United States of America.
The Verge reported that the device which was officially announced late last year came in two colours: black and blue but is adding the red taste this February to give a touch of love symbol, which is red.
The red 7x offers same features as its black and blue counterparts except for its tints which gives its more attraction.
The device prides itself in latest trending bezelless technology with a 18:9 bezelless display and a 5.93- inch screen. It also has a 4G LTE system and runs on android 7 Nougat operating system.
The device is powered by an octa-core HiSilicon Kirin 659 processor clocked at 2.36 GHz. It boasts of 8-core chip composed of two clusters of four cortex A53 cores with a 4 GB of RAM coupled with a 3340mAh battery capacity.
Reports also say that the firm is planning to fete its USA customers in Valentine's Day phone giveaway contest about falling in love. The company is yet to release its plan for its Nigerian fans.


The ISLAMIC EDUCATIONAL ORGANISATION OF SOUTHERN AFRICA (IEOSA).
was founded by the Hajee AM Lockhat Wakuff Trust in 1985.
// The ISLAMIC EDUCATIONAL ORGANISATION OF SOUTHERN AFRICA (IEOSA) was founded by the Hajee AM L..
// The ISLAMIC EDUCATIONAL ORGANISATION OF SOUTHERN AFRICA (IEOSA) was founded by the Hajee AM Loc..
// 1. Tawheed, 2. Islam and Muslims, 3. The 5 Pillars of Islam, 4. Tahaarah, 5. Sunnah M..
// 1. Introduction, 2. Tawheed, 3. Qualities of Allah, Subhanahu wa Ta'ala, 4. What is Isl..
// 2. Seven Beliefs of Islam, 3. Kinds of Religious Actions , 4. Sunan of Wudu, ..
// 1. Tawheed, 2. Five Pillars of Islam, 3. Seven Beliefs of Islam, 4. What is Islam..
// Chapters: 1. Faraid and Sunan of Ghusl, 2. Waajibaat of Salaah and Sajdah Sahw, 3. S..
// Chapters: 1. Factors that make Ghusl compulsory, 2. Qadaah Salaah, 3. Salaatul Ma..


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Q: Sigsuspend equivalent to atomic series of sigprocmask, pause, sigprocmask? I was reading my textbook's chapter (CS:APP, 3rd ed., chapter 8, page 781) on signals/ECF for Linux x86-64 systems, and came across this:

The sigsuspend function temporarily replaces the current blocked set with mask and then suspends the process until the receipt of a signal whose action is either to run a handler or to terminate the process. If the action is to terminate, then the process terminates without returning from sigsuspend. If the action is to run a handler, then sigsuspend returns after the handler returns, restoring the blocked set to its state when sigsuspend was called.
The sigsuspend function is equivalent to an atomic (uninterruptible) version of the following:
1       sigprocmask(SIG_BLOCK, &mask, &prev);
2       pause();
3       sigprocmask(SIG_SETMASK, &prev, NULL);

As I understand it, sigprocmask(SIG_BLOCK, &mask, &prev) should result in the blocked set being OR-ed with mask, i.e. adding the signals in mask to those already in the blocked set. But the text directly above the code (and the man-page for sigsuspend, which I looked up) says that sigsuspend "temporarily replaces the current blocked set with mask". That sounds more like sigprocmask(SIG_SETMASK, &mask, &prev) to me, where the blocked set is just set equal to the signals in the mask.
So why is sigsuspend(&mask) equivalent to the code above (lines 1-3) and not the code below (lines 4-6)? Where did I go wrong in my intuition and/or understanding of signal.h functions?
4       sigprocmask(SIG_SETMASK, &mask, &prev);
5       pause();
6       sigprocmask(SIG_SETMASK, &prev, NULL);

If I'm not being clear, let me ask a concrete question instead (it might explain my intuition better). Say the current blocked set encodes SIGCHLD, and the sigset_t mask encodes SIGINT. I call sigsuspend(&mask). No matter which code interpretation is right (lines 1-3 OR 4-6), a SIGINT signal delivered just after the call to sigsuspend would  be blocked/not wake up the process. However, what if right after the call to sigsuspend, a SIGCHLD signal is delivered? Will the process wake up/receive the signal? My intuition says lines 1-3 would block a SIGCHLD while lines 4-6 wouldn't, so clearly lines 1-3 and 4-6 aren't equivalent. But my intuition also says that sigsuspend shouldn't block SIGCHLD because it's not in mask, so lines 4-6 are correct, and if lines 4-6 are equivalent to sigsuspend in this case, sigsuspend can't be equivalent to lines 1-3. Where did my intuition/understanding go wrong?

A: The thing about technical books (and textbooks in particular) is that you should always be aware of whether or not there is errata available.
This link for the errata for that book shows:

Chapter 8: Exceptional Control Flow
  ...
  ...
  p. 781. In the description of sigsuspend in the second paragraph, line 1 should be:
sigprocmask(SIG_SETMASK, &mask, &prev);
  Posted 10/28/2015. Dave O'Hallaron

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


The Parliamentary Work and Pensions Committee have recently published their report on the Work Programme after interviewing a series of expert witnesses and taking a mountain of evidence. Their report is clear-sighted, far-reaching, and unanimous.
The report makes clear that a mainstream Work Programme is not working as well for some of the people who need the most intensive help.
One of its key points is this: If the Government is serious about halving the disability employment gap, it must retain and significantly expand a specialist employment programme separate to the Work Programme.
What's more, the Committee recommends that this specialist programme should be delivered by specialist disability organisations.
Why? Because we believe that Work Choice, the current specialist programme, offers a clearly different kind of provision but is too small to make a big enough difference.
Service fees intended to support work with the most vulnerable customers must reach specialist providers in full, rather than being watered down through prime management fees.
As an integral part of the bidding process, it should be mandatory for primes to explain what the challenges are to each customer cohort across each CPA and how specialists will be used to meet these challenges.
The commissioning process must include active dialogue with bidders to drill down into their levels of expertise and localised resources.
Under these circumstances, a single programme could deliver at least some of the benefits of a separate specialist approach. But we would be clear that this is not the optimum solution, it's a second best. The Work and Pensions Committee report goes further and says that a single programme would be a grave mistake.
For myself, I am certain that over five years of costs and benefits Government would gain considerably if they follow the unambiguous advice of the cross-party Committee.
Of course, the people who have most to gain are the one million people with a disability who will need to be supported into sustainable work if the disability employment gap is to be halved.
These individuals need the right support to find the right job first time and the Work and Pensions Committee have now set out clearly for all of us the best way for this to be achieved.


When the question was raised at the 2017 AGM about the benefits of FOCA to our SDRA membership, your SDRA Board realized we could do a better job of communicating to our members specifically how their $3.88 per membership benefits our association.
As you may recall, the four strategic pillars of our Skootamatta District Ratepayers Association are FUN, ADVOCACY, COMMUNICATION AND EDUCATION (F-A-C-E).
FUN: FOCA provides many tips and tools such as the Menu of Engagement Activities for Lake Associations that as members of FOCA we would not have access to. This menu provides ideas for community events, association meetings, and environmental programs as well as creative member communication ideas.
ADVOCACY: As part of a broader association such as FOCA, the SDRA has greater power as a collective voice alongside other lake associations. FOCA represents over 500 associations and is able to speak up where individual associations cannot.
COMMUNICATION: FOCA provides key alerts called e-lerts to over 10,000 subscribers on topics of concern for cottagers across Ontario. These e-lerts keep your SDRA board informed so they can in turn pass this information on to you. Also, as members of FOCA, individual members may also sign up for these e-lerts. Reduced subscription rates are also available through FOCA membership for publications such as Cottage Life magazine.
EDUCATION: FOCA provides the SDRA board with resources and tools to educate our members about Lake Stewardship, Invasive Species and Climate Change, Cottage Succession Planning, new legislation impacting Cottage Associations and much more. Guest speakers at the FOCA Fall sessions and Spring AGM's feature key topics to educate representatives from lake associations across Ontario. Resources from these sessions help the SDRA Board to educate their members and bring those resources and information to the SDRA AGM. Our Lake Management Plan Committee has taken advantage of the LMP templates provided by FOCA.
If you take a tour of the FOCA website, you will see right away how active they are in many common areas of concern for the Ontario Cottage Association community and how many resources are available to member associations through FOCA.
SDRA members in good standing can access all of FOCA's membership benefits, including the boat and cottage insurance program CottageFirst, a 30% discount off online purchases of Coleman Canada products(!) and all other offers listed on FOCA's Benefits webpage where information is updated as soon as it becomes available.
We hope this article has helped our members to understand how our FOCA membership delivers value to the SDRA.


It is now a well-established fact that the Golden Globes are practically synonymous with partying. From Jack Nicholson's infamous Vallium comment to Tina Fey and Amy Poehler's "it's getting sloppy up in here," these awards have always been some of Hollywood's raunchiest. Starting on January 10, stars have been galavanting around Los Angeles in search of award season's hottest parties. Beginning with the now infamous BAFTA Tea Party, stars essentially spend all weekend schmoozing and boozing to their hearts' content. Now that the day has finally arrived, here's a look at the best pre and post Globes parties that you wish you were famous or relevant enough to attend.


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Boxing Hall of Fame: Big day for little men
Robert Cassidy Jr.
It was a day to savor for boxing's smallest giants. Junior flyweight rivals Michael Carbajal and Humberto "Chiquita" Gonzalez will lead the Class of 2006 into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota.
Carbajal, a former U.S. Olympian, and Gonzalez, from Mexico, fought each other three times for a junior flyweight championship. Gonzalez won two of those bouts. (For the record, this author voted for both men.)
"We had some great fights together," said Carbajal. "It seems right that both of us are going in at the same time like this. We have a history."
The popular historian Hank Kaplan, a contributor to TheSweetScience.com was also inducted as an observer. The remainder of the Class of 2006 includes: former lightweight champion Edwin Rosario (deceased) in the modern category; welterweight and middleweight champion Lou Broulliard, light heavyweight champion Jimmy Slattery and middleweight champion Teddy Yarosz from the old-timers category; 19th-century English lightweight champion Jem Carney, in the pioneer category; and joining Kaplan as an observer was publisher Stanley Weston. Other inductees are English promoter/manager Jarvis Astaire, trainer Whitey Bimstein and Italian promoter Rodolfo Sabbatini.
The induction ceremony is June 11. Inductees are chosen by members of the Boxing Writers Association and a panel of international boxing historians. Boxers must be retired five years to be eligible.
Carbajal made history as the first million-dollar flyweight and engaged in a thrilling, three-fight series with Gonzalez. They afforded boxing's smaller weight classes attention that was long overdue. Carbajal won a silver medal at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. Among his U.S. teammates were Roy Jones Jr., Ray Mercer, Riddick Bowe and Kennedy McKinney.
"He was a pioneer in a lot of ways," said hall-of-fame trainer and HBO commentator, Emanuel Steward. "His punching power for his size was phenomenal."
Carbajal rose from a pair of knockdowns to unifiy the IBF and WBC by defeating Gonzalez in 1993 with a seventh-round knockout. Gonzalez reclaimed the title with a 12-round split decision in a February 1994 rematch and won another split decision over Carbajal in November 1994.
Carbajal left the ring in 1999 with a 49-4 record and 33 knockouts. Gonzalez retired in 1995 with a 43-3- record with 31 knockouts.
In Boxing News: Calzaghe On Lacy, Nba's Stephon Marbury, Seven Questions & More
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


I have just received a letter from the Labour Party informing me I have been suspended on the basis of comments I am alleged to have made.
Naturally no indication has been given to me as to what these comments might consist of or indeed who made the allegation.
I can only assume, in the current climate of media engineered hysteria over 'anti-Semitism' in the Labour Party and amongst Corbyn supporters, that it is related to this. I can think of no other reason.
If this is the case what is involved is a witch hunt of anti-Zionists using the cover of anti-Semitism since even the Zionist Board of Deputies of British Jews (BOD) and other Zionists have acknowledged my role in combatting Gilad Atzmon, a notorious anti-Semite who used to be associated with the Palestine solidarity movement.
So when he is under attack his immediate response was to plead to the "Zionist Board of Deputies of British Jews (BOD) and other Zionists" to defend him because he has given them Gilad Atzmon's head on a plate and they should reciprocate the favour. His postings are almost entirely devoted to Zionism and anti-Semitism and his narrow focus strays outside that very infrequently, as you will see if you follow the link below. Socialist Fight, the current target of his witch hunt, opposes imperialism in all its manifestations in every major conflict. We are particularly focused on opposition to British imperialism in Ireland; every one of the 25 issues of our magazine so far has carried a list of the Irish Republican Prisoners and defended their right to oppose the British occupation of the north of Ireland. No other left group in Britain, apart from the Revolutionary Communist Group, pays such attention to Britain's oldest colony and the touchstone for the anti-imperialism of every British socialist. Few make the grade now.
We have stood in the forefront of the opposition to the imperialist attacks on Libya in 2011 and never gave any credence to the 'Benghazi rebels' and their bogus CIA sponsored 'revolution'. Likewise with Syria and Iraq and Ukraine etc. The majority of the rest of the left disgraced themselves in supporting the war aims of their own and US imperialism.
Tony Greenstein has no such record. He was appalled at Gerry Downing's defence of the third world victims of US imperialism; it was the chickens coming home to roost. Tony Blair himself admitted that there would never have been an ISIS if he and George Bush had not invaded Iraq in 2003 using the false claims about weapons of mass destruction. The war criminals did not draw Tony Greenstein's ire in his article on it in the Weekly Worker but that Downing had not capitulated to the pressure of the imperialist politicians and mass media in Britain.
I learned from the Jewish Chronicle today that Berkshire Jews are "horrified" because yours truly has "challenged Holocaust denial legislation." What caused the present outbreak of Pre Traumatic Stress? Apparently, my Sunday book launch at the Reading International Festival.
First, I am sorry to hear that my questioning of Jewish identity politics and culture have created a state of Jewish collective horror. I would be pleased if any Berkshire Jews would bravely dare to attend my talk on Sunday, they may discover that they agree with most of my observations.
But what is it in my new book Being in Time – A Post Political Manifesto that inflicts 'horror' on Berkshire Jews and other Jewish institutions? No one knows. The book has been well-reviewed, and no one has yet found any factual mistakes or a methodological flaws in the text. If they want to burn it then you certainly want to own a copy.
In the last few days, British Jewish institutions have used every trick in the Hasbara book in an attempt to cancel my coming talk. The notorious CAA (whom Tony Greenstein is correctly attempting to get struck off as a charity – GD) and the ultra Zionist Board of Deputies of British Jews mounted pressure on the venue, they contacted the local council, they harassed local politicians; they even attempted to recruit 'LGBT activists' who were asked to pursue the venue.
The Jewish Chronicle reports that Rabbi Zvi Solomons of the Jewish Community of Berkshire said that Mr Atzmon is "a notorious antisemite. He has promoted Holocaust denial, compared Israelis to the Nazis." Other political organizations have taken the accusations against me seriously. They have carefully examined the matter and have found that the claims levelled against me are baseless, malicious and often duplicitous.
The Rabbi wrote, "The event organisers did not seem concerned that they were going to be providing a platform to a known peddler of hatred." I believe that the Rabbi should accept that outside of his congregation, criticism of ID politics, and Jewish culture are considered a legitimate intellectual and ethical adventure. Further, I have been writing on Jewish and Zionist matters for 20 years, and in spite of the strict anti hate legislation in the UK and other countries, I have never been questioned by a single law enforcement body about any of my writings or public speeches, neither here in Britain nor anywhere else around the world.
There is an element of truth there. My work has been praised by a wide spectrum of intellectuals: Right, Left and Centre (see here and here). One explanation is that I am dealing with meta-political issues. Rather than advocating a political standpoint, I attempt to offer a method to engage in ethical discussions within a critical philosophical framework.
The one thing, neither Arkush, Rabbi Solomons nor any other detractor of mine has ever managed to do is to point at a single critical reference to race or biology in my entire body of work. I do not criticise people, I dissect culture and politics and dig into their meaning.
The Jewish Chronicle reports that a small number of congregants from Rabbi Solomons' 50-strong community plan to hold a protest vigil if the event goes ahead. Two weeks ago, I encountered a similar vigil in Berkeley, California. The event organiser was able to persuade the entire Zionist group to attend the talk. At the end of the talk, some of the Zionists admitted to the organiser that they were persuaded by my argument and were impressed by my delivery. I am looking forward to meeting the Rabbi and his followers. I will, of course, invite them to join the peace lovers inside the Reading International Solidarity building.
Jonathan Arkush, the president of the Board of Deputies, said no "reputable event should feature Gilad Atzmon". More than 30 people staged a protest over the appearance of an antisemitic author at a cultural festival.
Gilad Atzmon, an Israeli jazz musician and writer who has challenged Holocaust denial legislation, gave a talk at the Reading International Solidarity Centre on Sunday. Congregants from the Jewish Community of Berkshire and members of Reading's LGBT+ community held a protest outside the event and were joined by Rachel Eden, a Labour councillor, who organised the demonstration.
She was joined by councillors Daya Pal Singh, Richard Davies, and Sophia James. Rabbi Zvi Solomons said the Jewish community was "horrified" by Mr Atzmon's appearance and "gravely disappointed that it went ahead despite attempts to have it cancelled". He described Mr Atzmon as "a notorious antisemite. He has promoted Holocaust denial, compared Israelis to the Nazis.
"He is not the sort of person any liberal outfit should want to be connected to." Rabbi Solomons had contacted Reading Borough Council leader Jo Lovelock to express his concern ahead of the event. However the council chose to distance itself from the event claiming it was not responsible for what happened.
Jonathan Arkush, the president of the Board of Deputies, said no "reputable event should feature Gilad Atzmon". He said the Board was "extremely concerned that the Solidarity Centre and the festival organisers appeared happy to host someone with such a track record for openly racist views." Mr Arkush pointed out "Atzmon's appearance at events is routinely cancelled when organisers learn about his views and track record".
The centre and Reading Friends of Palestine were unavailable for comment.
GA: The ultra Zionist Jewish Chronicle allowed a single voice of reason into its letters page this weekend.
In a rather belated response to Rosa Doherty's article of October 24, concerning a public appearance of Gilad Atzmon, I would like to take issue with certain comments reported therein.
Rabbi Zvi Solomons is quoted as calling Mr Atzmon "a notorious antisemite", and says that "he has promoted Holocaust denial, compared Israelis to the Nazis" and Jonathan Arkush, President of the Board of Deputies, holds that no "reputable event should feature Gilad Atzmon", opinions I respectfully but vigorously disagree with.
Firstly, is Mr. Atzmon truly an antisemite? An antisemite as defined by who, and by what criteria? Should we not apply ourselves to these questions before we brand anyone with such a grave charge, however objectionable (nay, offensive!) their opinions be? As far as I know, and I may be wrong, Mr Atzmon has never denied that the Holocaust happened but rather has opposed laws which seek to prohibit its denial; and did Mr Atzmon really compare all Israelis to Nazis, or is his clumsy and admittedly provocative critique of Israeli policies being taken as proof of something much more sinister?
Even were Mr Atzmon to confess himself as a most virulent antisemite, both tactically and on principle, the last thing we should do is seek to ban him from "reputable" public events; rather, we should welcome any and every opportunity to debate him and people with similar ideas, with facts and well-reasoned arguments that will show any fair-minded, rational person how ill-founded Mr Atzmon's discourse is.
And before anyone accuses me of being naive and unrealistic in adopting this response, I would counter that to silence or "shut him down" truly plays into genuine antisemites' hands (e.g.:" Look, the Zionists are trying to shut up honest dissenters again") and leaves a part of the intellectual field to them.
Nevertheless, Tony Greenstein's successful injunction hearing in the high court on December 7 exposed the appalling politically motivated unfairness and inflexibility in disciplinary matters, not only of Labour's unelected officials, acting – according to the party's rules – "under the instructions of the national executive committee", but also of the 11-person national constitutional committee elected annually by conference.
I don't see a principle against doing that. If the right wing bureaucracy overstep bourgeois legality in attacking the left, it is legitimate to go to court and demand basic justice. We may not get it; if not it exposes the courts. But if we do it strengthens the left.
Its a matter of political judgement when to do this. Obviously we do not rely on the courts to promote our overall politics. But if our basic democratic rights are attacked in a manner that flagrantly contradicts the current norms of bourgeois legality then we are obliged to defend them in court if we have the means. Marx did it. Trotsky did it. Its not observing a class line to refuse this, its passive acceptance of attacks on our democratic rights.
Where did Trotsky and Marx try to use the bourgeois state as a tool of intervention within the working class? It is a breach of the only principle, the political independence of the working class, to seek refuge in the capitalist state in a dispute with other working class tendencies. How the hell can a tendency without the confidence to prevail within the working class be able to effectively use an alien class apparatus to advance the working class cause? Moreover, it muddies the line regarding the very nature of the capitalist state.
While I'm at it: I think you are wrong to defend yourself by means of sophistic definitions of "anti-Semitism," now a thoroughly skunked term. Here, too, a stand should be taken on principle: nonexclusionism within the left. I know, I know, the CPGB likes to maneuver around the bureaucracies to expel this or that tendency from united fronts. I have no truck with the AWL, but I would never seek to exclude them – even though they would no doubt try to exclude me.
Elementary working class principles are of course lost in the neo-Stalinoid mileu of the CPGB. Everything is tactics! That's of course because they're such tactical geniuses – look how far tactics have gotten Conrad, who makes fun of Socialist Fight's numbers when himself living in a glass house.
The ruling class as a whole is committed to Zionism – but intensity of commitment matters. How does Greenstein explain away that the two indispensible sources of Trumpist contributions – Sheldon Adelson and the Mercers – are fanatic Zionists who are willing to put their money behind their words.
Trotsky sued the Mexican CP for libel when it accused him of being a fascist terrorist or some such.
Marx sued Karl Vogt, who was a counterrevolutionary slanderer within the milieux of the movement around the Cologne communist trial.
In extremis, I suppose technically you could regard Trotsky's assassin as part of the workers movement. Trotsky's guards, when they captured him, could have despatched him themselves. But that would have left them open to prosecution. If you take on the functions of state power, you have to be able to seize it. They were not. So they rightly handed the killer over to the Mexican cops.
An extreme example perhaps. But the principle is the same.
And i disagree that we are using sophisms around anti-Semitism. The point is that it is racism. That's what it originally meant. Its the pseudo-definitions that expand that which are sophisms. We are for non-exclusionism within this United Front. We are the only current that is.
Do you have a link for Trotsky's suit against the Mexican CP?
National Zeitung, which Marx sued over Vogt's article, was a far right publication. I don't think Marx sued Vogt personally.
Handing over an attempted murderer isn't political collaboration with the police. I think we need to distinguish between the ministerial and discretionary actions of the police. Ministerially cooperating with the cops can be necessary, but inviting them to settle what requires discretion (as in the Greenstein matter) is unprincipled.
An anti-Semitism, I suppose that whether you declare the term skunked for imprecision or you seek to return it to something closer to its original definition is tactical, and you can probably judge better than I. But stating simply that anti-Semitism is Jewish racism and nothing else leads to absurdities. They may not be important absurdities, but absurdities they are. For example, you would have to say that Dusty is not an anti-Semite.


1) Lola was born in March 2002, and was born with congenitally dislocated hips.
2) Lola's case alleges negligent child health care by a community nurse, in failing to act on a finding of 'clicky hips' at a review 10 days after her birth.
3) it is alleged that it was not until Lola began kindly in 2006 that the problem with her hips was noticed. By this time it was too late for effective treatment and despite surgery Lola has significant long term disability. Had treatment been arranged in 2002, it is likely such disability would have been avoided, with simple conservative treatment.
If the 2005 changes to the law apply to Lola's claim, the time when her time for claim began to run is 2006, when the problem with her hips became apparent (and her case is brought within time).
There is no question that before such changes in the Law in Nov 05, Lola's claim would be taken to have accrued and so time was running even before identification of the problem. The injustice of this was a well recognized reason for the law's reform in 2005.
The question in issue is whether the changes in 2005 retrospectively benefit claimants like Lola. In my view, perhaps predictably, the 2005 changes are retrospective and Lola may rely upon them. Only time will tell whether Judge Schoombee agrees….


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Archive for date: August 4th, 2018
You are now in California and the U.S. Media Coverage category.
OPINION: California's Leaky Bucket Theory Of Public Improvement
August 4, 2018 /in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Alyssa Barman /The Orange County Registerby Jon Coupal
Unfortunately, Californians have come to expect significant levels of waste and incompetence when it comes to government programs. Just last week, we learned that the "new" $290 million computer system for the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration — in the works for over a decade — was having significant problems with tax filers trying to submit their quarterly returns. Despite California being home to Silicon Valley and the best high-tech minds on the planet, the State of California has a sorry history of failure when implementing big computer projects.
https://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/water-news-network.png 0 0 Alyssa Barman https://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/water-news-network.png Alyssa Barman2018-08-04 09:05:292018-09-04 09:32:03OPINION: California's Leaky Bucket Theory Of Public Improvement
OPINION: Securing A Reliable Water Future
August 4, 2018 /in Media Coverage, San Diego County /by Alyssa Barman /Ventura County Starby Steve Blois
The imported water that keeps most of Ventura County running comes from one main source — Northern California. It is delivered to us through the State Water Project. Protecting our supply — and our economy — means modernizing the heart of this delivery system hundreds of miles away in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The state is on the verge of doing so with a project known as California WaterFix, with Ventura County securing an important role in managing its construction. After more than 11 long years of study, planning and debate, WaterFix is moving forward.
https://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/water-news-network.png 0 0 Alyssa Barman https://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/water-news-network.png Alyssa Barman2018-08-04 08:49:492018-08-06 09:01:24OPINION: Securing A Reliable Water Future
Over-Billings On Water Meters In San Diego Topped $2 Million
August 4, 2018 /in Media Coverage, San Diego County /by Alyssa Barman /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Joshua Emerson Smith
When customers started complaining early last year about spiking water bills, authorities downplayed the situation. Water department officials repeatedly said that leaky toilets, broken sprinklers and the rising cost of water were likely to blame, even as customer complaints flooded into the agency's public hotline for months. However, a recent analysis by the San Diego Union-Tribune has shown that single-family homes serviced by the city's water department were collectively overcharged by more than $2 million last year — with some residents receiving bills for tens of thousands of dollars.
https://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/water-news-network.png 0 0 Alyssa Barman https://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/water-news-network.png Alyssa Barman2018-08-04 08:43:472018-08-06 08:46:28Over-Billings On Water Meters In San Diego Topped $2 Million


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Constantly called a hacker. Never really cared too much and maybe you should quit if you care about this game so much.
P.S. If you want to be my freind play with me untill i remember who the hell you are. Don't just add me cause i killed you a few times!!!
Profile was last updated on December 09, 2017 at 01:07 PM.
Next automatic update on April 14, 2019 at 11:44 PM.


Learn about how REDW's Financial Literacy Program empowers Native American youth.
Serving the unique needs of sovereign nations.
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Our commitment to Tribes goes well beyond the quality accounting and business services we offer. Through a variety of programs, we are dedicated to advancing the financial management knowledge and capabilities of tribal leaders, employees, and members.
REDW hosts several major conferences each year featuring industry thought leaders. These events provide information on the important issues affecting tribal governments and businesses and the opportunity to meet with our tribal accounting, financial, and legal experts.
We actively recruit and hire Native American accounting students at major universities in the Southwest.
To encourage bright Native American students to pursue accounting careers, we offer university scholarships that greatly ease the financial burden.
REDW supports the talents of Native American artists in meaningful ways. For example, we often contract the work of local artisans or dancers for our tribal conferences.


Its time for a new profile photo and a new Resume.
Professional development, which includes tertiary education, software experience and professional memberships.
A link to download the new CV is on my resume page.
Running is a low cost sport. Decent shoes, perhaps a GPS watch, comfortable threads and time is all you need to partake. Running in New Zealand is great – fresh air, heaps of interesting route and a large community of like-minded individuals who run to run Marathons or Half Marathons around the country. It's the perfect way to spend your time meaningfully.
If you want validation of your efforts or a goal it's great to train towards a race. When this goal is achieved and you get the bug you just want to do more – this is where it starts getting a little expensive.
I want to do more Half Marathons and I started reviewing the options. I was surprised to discover the variance in prices between Half Marathon events around the country. I understand that overhead costs vary for each location and event, however charging upwards of $70 per event makes it unaffordable for your average person, particularly if the event has a major sponsor, a crap sample pack and no medal. Travel and accommodation costs should also be factored in, as should the leave days required to travel to a venue to run in a new race.
As an example – in order to compete in the Waiheke Half Marathon I need to take leave days from my job, fly up to Auckland, commute into the CBD, ferry over to Waiheke, pay for accommodation on the island and then pay almost $100 for the privilege of participating. The Waiheke Half Marathon is the 5th most expensive event on the data below.
I am not saying that I will not participate in an event because of its cost. I am, however, unlikely to participate in the Half Marathon event more than once if it is too cost prohibitive. I realise I have a pragmatic approach to this but I want value in exchange for my investment of time, money and effort.
The following list is a random snapshot of the standard entry fees for Half Marathons around the North and South islands of New Zealand. The list is not complete, some items are missing because 2018 registration is not yet open.
The following is excerpted from an interview with me for accepted submissions to the annual calendar. These photos are also used for the desktop wallpaper for all workstations world- wide. These images her to visually represent the company purpose and work; they also permit employees to get to know each other better.
The photo was taken with a Sony A33.
How did you become part of the MWH team?
What is your role at MWH and how long have you worked here?
Chris van der Leer: As IT Project Controls Specialist, my primary purpose is to bring value to projects and to the project management process within our global IT department. I contribute on a diverse range of projects which impact employees in all global locations.
What inspired you to take the photo selected for the calendar?
Chris van der Leer: When growing up in Africa, I always wanted to experience an earthquake and a volcano - indeed I never thought that I would have either of these experiences. Suffice to say my Christchurch colleagues and I have experienced enough quakes to last anybody a lifetime.
This photo is of the Christchurch skyline and is taken from our office. The rising sun represents a new dawn for the city, our company and for us as individuals. We see this view every day I wanted to share this experience with you all.
If you could go anywhere in the world to take photos where would you go? Why?
Chris van der Leer: I have two places in mind: I would visit Prague, the city of a thousand spires. The history, color and culture would be awesome to capture.
I would also like to visit Lake Tekapo International Dark Sky Reserve - the isolation, lack of light pollution and flat plains provide beautiful clear skies that offer unparalleled views of the stars and planets - great for star photography.
What do the photos you take say about you as a person?
Chris van der Leer: I believe it is important to view things for what they are, allowing our personal experiences to shape the vision of the future. I don't manipulate photos - therefore my images exhibit life exactly as it is in the moment the shutter closes.
What does the Stantec purpose design with community in mind mean to you?
Chris van der Leer: The effects of urbanization are occurring in every city in every country, the obvious solution to this phenomenon is to make our cities more sustainable. This starts with designing infrastructure suited to the growing needs of our communities – infrastructure which encourages individuals to be healthy and safe in a sustainable way.
Tan Son Nhat International Airport (IATA: SGN, ICAO: VVTS), is the largest airport in Vietnam. It is located 4 mi (6 km) north of the center (District 1) of Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).
Noi Bai International Airport (IATA: HAN, ICAO: VVNB), the biggest airport in northern Vietnam, serves the capital city of Hanoi. The airport is located 45 kilometers from the city center.
A new International Terminal 2 opened at the end of 2014. The new terminal offers 96 check-in counters, ten self-service kiosks, 17 boarding gates and 283 flight information display systems. Domestic flights now operate from Terminal 1.
In July 2017 New Zealand encountered a significant amount of rainfall, resulting in the towns of Timaru, Oamaru, Dunedin and Christchurch declaring states of emergency.
This video is licensed under CC BY 2.0. This means that you are free to license and adapt the contents of this video by giving credit to the original author.


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Lee Smith finally gets his Hall of Fame due
Chalk up another Boston Red Sox legend who found his way into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
Legend might not be the right term when referring to his Red Sox career, but Lee Smith was one heck of a ballplayer overall--and he got selected to the Hall of Fame by the Today's Game Era Committee, who met at the winter meetings. In order to be elected, players needed 12 votes (75 percent) from the 16-member panel. Smith received 16 votes, Harold Baines received 12 votes and Lou Pinella came up just short with 11 votes.
Say what you will about Baines going into the Hall of Fame, but Smith is honestly a pretty good choice. There used to be a vendetta against closers going in the Hall of Fame solely based on the big saves thing, but one has to admit: if Trevor Hoffman got in and Mariano Rivera is a first ballot Hall of Famer, then why can't the guy who held the saves record longer than both of them make the cut?
After all, Smith recorded 478 saves over the course of his big league career and finished it with a respectable 3.03 ERA over 18 seasons.
And in case you were wondering why this is being written about, it's because he played for the Red Sox from 1988 to 1990; he recorded 59 saves in that time frame (since he was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals very early into the 1990 season).
So yeah, pretty good to see a Red Sox player get the nod in Cooperstown. Now the question should be: which Red Sox player gets in next? It could be Curt Schilling. It could be David Ortiz. But we will have to wait and find out--and hopefully the suspense does not kill anyone. That would be very bad.
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Ha collaborato per il periodico bolognese Il Resto del Carlino.

Ex rugbista del , cronista ed opinionista specializzato nella disciplina della palla ovale. Conduttore di vari programmi radio-televisivi per il rugby. Fondatore nel 2000 della rivista mensile La Meta Rugby Magazine. In oltre 50 anni di attività, inviato in tutto il mondo per varie agenzie di stampa a seguito di avvenimenti sportivi inerenti al rugby. Corrispondente dall'estero con 29 anni di residenza a Parigi.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Tangled Up In A Twist Of Fate 4 / An uninspected mind
Sandy came and went. The trees stopped dancing. We didn't lose power. we're in Central Connecticut and the storm sucker punched the coast. They look to be without power for a while. The clean-up will take a real long time. The Karma Express stopped in Ct. A house that survived Irene when its neighbor got wiped out got knocked off its foundation while the neighbor, in the process of being rebuilt, survived. Truth be told if Ilived on the coast and had to deal with Irene and Sandy I would seriously think about giving up the ocean view and begin looking at property a bit farther inland, like Vermont. I feel bad for all those coastal residents ambushed by the news outlets before Sandy…
Tangled Up In A Twist Of Fate 3/ From an uninspected mind
Sandy's coming. I'm waiting. It's a battle of wills I'll lose. Hell I'm fighting Mother Nature. How can I win? By staying inside for the next thirty six hours and staying dry. I've resigned myself to a major power outage. The Nook is charged, the boom box has fresh batteries as do two smaller radios and the lanterns I got from LL Bean are ready. As a rule this would ensure power because every time I prep for something it doesn't happen. This time we're in for a big blow. It'll be like living in a wind tunnel with water. I'll get a running commentary from Murphy, but that's what he does. I'll just read, sleep and listen to CDs and audiobooks. I understand…
Tangled In A Twist of Fate 2.1
Just got done watching Mockingbird Lane, a reboot of The Munsters. I have no idea why NBC made a one-of show out of it. Jerry O'Connell is perfect as Herman. He's a normal father trying to deal with family problems. Gone is the clownish Frankenstein make-up. O'Connell is your neighbor next door even if he's got a zipper on his chest to access his heart. Portia de Rossi is beautiful as Lily. She is closer to Carolyn Jones Mortica Addams. Her first appearance is an eye-opener. Yvonne DiCarlo was maternal, Portia Is a MILF. Mason Cook is Eddie, a young boy who is at the time of life when strange changes happen. Like massacring members of his scout troop. A portion of the storyline is spent with telling him…
Tangled In A Twist Of Fate 2
I'm waiting for Sandy. She's coming, probably on Monday, but you never can tell. The talking heads on television are waiting for her. They try to predict where she's going to stop first. Some say she'll start het tour in Delaware and move up to New York and then head for the Great Lakes. Some think she'll kick off the festivities in the Long Island Sound area. There are a few who, in direct contradiction of the wise men say she'll ignore us completely and visit Nova Scotia and the North Atlantic. I shouldn't hope that she'll storm through Long Island Sound, but I kind of like major events by Boss Mother Nature. She's the booking agent for Sandy. She's sent out Irene last…
Tangled Up In A Twist of Fate 1
This is for KS. You know who you are. Gather round kiddies, Uncle Tom is gonna tell you a story. It's about a man who liked being seen but not being touched. In a city by the sea a young boy was born to parents who were not poor but tried to instill basic values into their child. They got him the best education money could buy. All the philosophy, ethics and fine arts were lost on the boy. This was because he had orange hair. When the other children in his school began teasing him, he begged his father to give him money to change the color of his hair. His father refused. Instead he told the boy if he wanted to change…
Words and Numbers 127/ A last hurrah,a new beginning,odd bits
I got a registerd letter in the mail Saturday. It was from a law firm in Virginia. It seems my attempt to trademark Words and Numbers has infringed upon the intellectual property of a company named Words and Numbers Inc. Whats a boy to do? I'm not going to have an extended correspondence with them explaining to them that I'm a blogger trying to make people's lives a little brighter. Mary, she's the law person who sent me the letter, wouldn't understand. They're just protecting what they think is theirs. I've decided to change the name of the blog. I thought a lot, okay, about an hour. I came up with a lot of names but nine seemed to fit my personality. I thought…
Wordsand Numbers 126/ A short shot
They found "shiny stuff" on Mars. Great scientific terminology. A bus driver kicked a mom off his bus because her kid's diaper smelled. He's not married, an uncle or probably had any contact with a woman, ever. The CIA has found links to militants in the Benghazi attack. If there wasn't they'd find some. Bin Laden was behind it, from the grave. The "sexy Big Bird" is under fire from Sesame Street people. I always am a sucker for "sexy nurse", Big Bird not so much. Too many risks of nightmares of Mr. Hooper telling me I can't come into his store. Stones tickets are being scalped for $21K. Five, over sixty guys, trying to get a rich, over sixty crowd off. Too much…
Words and Numbers 125/ Frank Zappa and juvies,McGovern and Specter, odd bits
Played Cruisin' With Reuben and the Jets Monday night. It was doo-wop and knowing Uncle Frank I was waiting for the subversive message. I strained my ears to hear the tune but it didn't come. The CD was on the suface an homage to the Fifties. That was until Seal the Cracks. I expected maybe a little teen lust but no. What did I hear? Turn on the gas? Yep he said it. I felt relieved. The waiting was over. It's an album you can listen to even if you have no memories of the Fifties. Hell, I was in my impressionable years and I listened to rock and roll. Look how I turned out. The album did another thing it jarred my memory.…
Words and Numbers 124/ Just odd bits
Last week I got a bunch of CDs I'd ordered. Last night I started into the queue. First up: The Devil You Know by Rickie Lee Jones. This is a collection of covers. She doesn't try to mimic the original artists. She interprets them. Usually to me this is bad news because songs I've loved are going to be disassembled and rebuilt, kinda like Frankenstein's monster. Being a fan I was curious. The opening song is Sympathy For The Devil. I remember harassing bar bands between beers to play it. I wanted all of Mick's strut and sass, the boasting of The Corrupter. Not even close. It became an anguished ballad drawn out and phrased, barely audible. It was different, I liked it. Stones fans…
Words and Numbers 123/ Brain farts, odd bits
Em Drevets posted twice about time, see them at http://www.drevets.com It got me thinking. Why to I get right to the edge of meltdown when I have to wait longer than the alloted time set by my brain. Notice I didn't say mind. This is an innate thing we all have. Waiting at the mega-mart to check out our whole wheat pasta and butternut squash, some little old lady is counting out pennies, the husband dunned into shopping by his wife has coupons, none of them for the items he has in his basket. As we wait the throb of our pulse becomes external. Fingers are keeping time on the handle of the cart. A little foot shuffle kicks in. The finger drumming gets…


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Ecotone Magazine
Lookout Books
the blog of Ecotone magazine and Lookout Books
Content Tagged 'Lit Hub'
Tags: Allegheny Front, Boy Erased, Clare Beams, Ecotone, Electric Literature, Elizabeth McCracken, Lit Hub, matthew neill null, Rebecca Gayle Howell, recommended reading, Sam Lipsyte, the Oxford American, We Show What We Have Learned
As the school year ends and launches us into summer, and as the face of Helen is said to have launched a thousand ships, this week we have literary launches galore. I don't know whether that sentence is entirely sensical, but in the spirit of launches–moments at the intersection of optimism and uncertainty–I'm going to let it stand–and springboard us into this week's launch news!
Lookout's forthcoming story collection, We Show What We Have Learned by Clare Beams, is right now making its way out to booksellers, reviewers, and other taste makers. We were happy to reveal this week, through our Instagram account @lookoutbooksuncw, a full preview of the press kit. Here's one view of the process. Head on over to Instagram to see the rest, and the final kits.
Lookout author Matthew Neill Null has had an exciting week! His short story collection, Allegheny Front (Sarabande), launched on Tuesday. His story, "Gauley Season," part of the collection, was featured on Electric Lit's "Recommended Reading" this week, and Matt will be in conversation next week with Sam Lipsyte at McNally Jackson in NYC, talking about the book and his relationship to West Virginia. If you're not in the big apple (or, ahem, don't want to launch yourself over there), you can read Matt's awesome essay about writing about the "real" West Virginia over on Lit Hub.
Former Pub Lab TA and Ecotone designer Garrard Conley also launched a book this week. Boy Erased tells the story of Garrard's experience in 'Ex Gay' therapy. He discusses the book, his family, and his time at UNCW over at Electric Literature.
We're also thrilled for Ecotone contributor Rebecca Gayle Howell who has been launched into a new position as senior editor of the Oxford American.
We hope your weekend is launching you into fun a productive activities. We'll see you at the next Roundup!
Tags: Ecotone, honey from the lion, Lit Hub, lookout, matthew neill null, Molly Antopol, NewPages, Parnassus Books, Review, the Common
We're finishing up the first full week of school at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, the home of Lookout and Ecotone, and are gearing up for a semester of literary action! We're just a little over a week away from the release of Lookout's debut novel, and we've got news and events aplenty:
Honey from the Lion makes the Literary Hub's Great Booksellers Fall Review along with books by Jonathan Franzen, Ron Rash, Joy Williams, Lauren Groff, Claire Vaye Watkins, and Marilynne Robinson! Thanks to Mary Laura Philpott of Parnassus Books for the pick. She says, "Lookout Books publishes just one or two books a year, so it's always interesting to see what they choose to put their faith in next. Matthew Neill Null's debut novel Honey from the Lion demands your attention from the first page and keeps it until the last, with beautiful prose conjuring an atmosphere that's rugged and desperate. I could see this being turned into a dark HBO miniseries."
A proper library has more than just books! Find out what Matthew Neill Null deposits on his bookshelves, what book he'd rescue from a burning building, and a few forgotten books he thinks deserve a revival over at The Quivering Pen's My Library series.
Want a free copy of Honey from the Lion? The Goodreads Giveaway ends this Sunday, Aug. 30. Head on over and get in the running!
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The Immaculate Conception Cathedral (also called Cathedral of Apia or Mulivai Cathedral) is the Catholic cathedral in Apia, the capital of Samoa, a insular country in Oceania. It suffered damage in the earthquake of 2009, and has undergone restoration and extension.

The congregation follows the Roman or Latin rite and is the mother church of the Archdiocese of Samoa–Apia (Latin: Archidioecesis Samoa–Apiana; Samoan: Fa'aAkiepikopo Samoa–Apia), which was created in 1966 by Pope Paul VI through the bull "Prophetarum voes".

After three years of repairs, the new cathedral of Apia was opened to the public on 2 June 2014 in the presence of Archbishop Martin Krebs, the apostolic nuncio in New Zealand. The church was rebuilt on the site of the original cathedral, which dated from 1857.

History

In 1852, William Pritchard sold a plot of land in Mulivai, about three-quarters of an acre (or 3000 m²), to Bishop Bataillon, onto which Bataillon's brother, Jacques, began building a church and a parish house. The first stone was blessed by the bishop on 8 December 1852, but work was interrupted by epidemics and a tropical cyclone in 1854, which destroyed eight ships and caused great damage to the plantations, resulting in problems with the food supply. As a result, the church was completed in 1857.

The church stood in the same place as the current one, while the residence was near Mulivai.

See also
Roman Catholicism in Samoa
Immaculate Conception

References

Roman Catholic churches completed in 2014
Buildings and structures in Apia
Roman Catholic churches in Samoa
Roman Catholic cathedrals in Oceania


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Allergy Menus
Fast Pass+
The Disney Cynic
NOT Club 33
Pixie dust gets sprinkled with a bit of profanity. This is Disney World for the rest of us, definitely Not Club 33
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Candlelight Processional Review
By Pat Neistat on Monday, June 3, 2019
Candlelight Processional Narrators Announced for Select Dates During 2019 Epcot International Festival of the Holidays
The Candlelight Processional provides an opportunity to enjoy the inspirational story of the birth of Jesus. The story is narrated by a guest celebrity reading lines of scripture alongside a 50-piece orchestra, the Walt Disney World Cast choir, and the Voices of Liberty. Walt Disney World runs 3 performances daily during the Festival of Holidays at the America Gardens Theater, located at the American Pavilion in Epcot.
You have two options when trying to obtain a seat for the Candlelight Processional. First, you're able to reserve a Candlelight Dining Package which pairs a guaranteed seat and a fine dining experience. Second, you can wait in a standby line like a dope and hope to get a seat. (Note: You'd be waiting in line with about 600 other dopes). This is a highly popular event and I didn't want to miss an opportunity to see the guest narrator Gary Sinise. I opted to pay for the dining package. We made an ADR for Germany's Biergarten, located in the German Pavilion, and one of the cheaper options available. There were 4 of us and the bill with tip was around $200, which seemed like a shit ton of money for dinner and a show. I mean, I could watch this shit on YouTube for free.
I was having reservations on spending that much, but that all changed when the orchestra started to play 'Joy to the World,' led by Dr. Jeffrey B. Redding. The choir then marched down towards the stage, accompanied by the Voices of Liberty singing 'God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.'
Gary Sinise, most known for his role in Forrest Gump as Lieutenant Dan, was announced as he walked on stage to a rousing ovation. More importantly, he is known for the Gary Sinise Foundation. His foundation provides support for veterans, First Responders, their families, and those in need. He was incredibly humble and sincere in his delivery of the narration of the Christmas Story.
Throughout the night, the orchestra played as the choir sang along to many Christmas classics, such as 'O Come All Ye Faithful.' The crowd sang simultaneously with the choir, throughout the night. In addition, they also played 'Away in a Manger,' 'O Holy Night,' and 'Silent Night.' It lasted over an hour. Subsequently, they ended the night with a kickass rendition of Handel's 'The Hallelujah Chorus.'
Overall, this experience was fantastic! In fact, I compare the Candlelight Processional to the your local Symphony. The quality of this show is indeed that damn good. Specifically, the orchestra sounded amazing. The $200 price tag is comparable to a nice dinner and tickets to the symphony. But at Disney it includes a guest celebrity narrator! This is without a doubt a hell of a value at Walt Disney World.
In closing, I would highly recommend this experience if this is your cup of tea. On the other hand if you don't like symphonies and a show such as this one, I'd stay the hell away.
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Shades of Green – Military Benefits at WDW
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Economy Raising InfoComm Attendance?
By Chuck Ansbacher. After setting attendance and exhibitor records in 2008, InfoComm saw its numbers dip slightly as the global economy collapsed. Four years later, the economy is on the rebound, and the Show is on the verge of breaking many of the records it set in 2008.
By Chuck Ansbacher. Las Vegas, NV (June 13, 2012)—After setting attendance and exhibitor records in 2008, InfoComm saw its numbers dip slightly as the global economy collapsed. Four years later, the economy is on the rebound, and the Show is on the verge of breaking many of the records it set in 2008.
"Right now we're projecting very healthy attendance," says Jason McGraw, CTS, CAE, InfoComm Senior Vice President of Expositions. The 925 exhibitors are taking up more space. "We have a record amount of net paid space this year. More than we had in 2008."
He attributes these numbers to a rebound in the economy, huge growth in the signage and conferencing verticals, and a return to Vegas. "Roughly 30 percent of our audience turns out regionally," he said. Vegas appeals to visitors from both California and Asia.
Even with the competing shows overseas, international attendance still accounts for 16 percent of attendees, and has seen no drop off year over year.
Another driver of attendance continues to be education, with registration for InfoComm University seminars up 25 percent over last year. In all, 3,500 people will take classes this year.
McGraw doesn't see education as keeping people off the show floor. "This isn't a conference where it's just table tops and everybody stays in classes until there's a break. People build time in their schedules to go visit the exhibits."
"In our post-show survey, 96 percent of attendees say they're here to see new products," explains McGraw. Following closely behind is learning about the technologies, new trends, and applications. "We think of InfoComm as a solutions show. You can see all the different parts and pieces, but here, you can put it all together into a working system."
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Looking for a smartphone, but still have a few doubts? In this comprehensive smartphone buying guide, we provide the most commonly asked questions before buying a smartphone, and their answers.
The main reason to love a small-screen smartphone is for its compact design. It is easy to carry in pocket and you won't have to stretch your thumb to reach anything. Apple iPhone 5S, Samsung Galaxy Star Pro, BlackBerry Z10 etc fall under this format.
This has become the smartphone sweet spot, with devices such as the iPhone 6, HTC One M9, Galaxy S6, etc. Budget phones like Lenovo A6000 Plus, Redmi 2, Micromax Canvas Xpress 2 are also a part of this frame. Most phones are fairly comfortable to use with one hand in this category, depending on the button placement.
Smartphones with display of 5.5 inches or more, such as the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus and LG G4, and the 5.7-inch Galaxy Note 4, are often called phablets because they are tablet-like in size. These are more likely to be used as two-handed devices, but there are lots of people who prefer larger displays for watching videos, reading eBooks and even running two apps side by side.
Right Screen Resolution—qHD, HD or Full HD?
The best way to judge a smartphone's screen is to look at it from different viewing angles for changes in color, and also in varying lighting conditions to ensure visibility. Make sure that the smartphone you're shopping for, has a display that's bright enough so that it can be read under direct sunlight.
Buy a Full HD (1080p) display if you're buying a device larger than five inches. On the other hand, HD (720p) screens work well for devices up to five inches in size. On smaller devices, load a web page to see if the text is crisp, and can be read without any strain to your eyes.
Super AMOLED screens are best when it comes to displaying vibrant colors. LCD screens with IPS technology come next, while we suggest to avoid TFT LCDs.
If you care about build quality and aesthetics, look for a unibody design, which you'll find on the iPhone 6, Galaxy S6, Oppo R7 Lite or HTC One M9. The S6's glass-and-metal design is particularly attractive, especially the S6 Edge with its dual curved display.
Besides the build quality and styling of the phone, one major issue is that the phone should fit in hand with a good grip so that slipping and dropping damage can be avoided.
Many phones such as Samsung Galaxy S6 Egde, Xolo Black etc have shiny slippery back while phones such as OnePlus 2, Intex Aqua Trend etc have rubberized and matte finish at the back which gives a good grip.
The standard plastic backs don't feel as premium as the ones with metal looks. If you're looking for a more personal design, check out the Moto X, which you can customize online with all sorts of colors and finishes, including wood. The Moto G,LG G4, OnePlus 2 offers back covers in different styles, including leather and wood, while the Oppo R7 Lite has the metallic finish that gives it's a premium look.
We are now in that era of smartphone evolution that every user wants two-side cameras with good image quality. More and more smartphones have cameras with 8,12 or 16 megapixels, but don't go by numbers alone. Instead, pay attention to image quality, aperture, speed and features.
So, if you're looking for a good camera phone, don't go blindly for the idea that more megapixels will give you better pictures. Instead, look for phones that boast of good camera optics. Remember, a high-resolution camera with a low-quality lens will only give you low-quality pictures in high resolution. For example, The iPhone 6 has an 8-MP sensor, but it captures relatively large pixels and accurate colors than smartphones with 16 MP camera.
You should be able to get a decent shot indoors without using the flash. A larger aperture allows for this. For instance, the Galaxy S6 has an f/1.9 aperture and the LG G4 is rated for f/1.8, while the iPhone 6 is f/2.2. A lower number means a larger aperture, which typically translates to better low-light performance.
As far as camera features, look for optical image stabilization to reduce blur and improve low-light performance. Smartphone makers are also paying more attention to front-camera quality, as evidenced by such models as the HTC Desire Eye.
Camera sensors for better low-light photography come with an LED flash. Nowadays smartphone comes with dual tone LED flashlight for good low light images, some smartphone have front LED flashlight.
Good photos are a result of adequate megapixels, good lens and sensor technology, as well as high-end processor chipsets. The smartphones like OnePlus 2,Nokia Lumia 1520, the Apple iPhones, Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge, LG G4, Honor 6 Plus, ZTE Nubia Z9 Mini, Sony Xperia Z3 and Xiaomi Mi 4i have a good camera.
We have received many queries where users are ticked off by the slowness of the device. Particularly by operations, we mean the speed of opening an app. Having more RAM gives you freedom for switching between apps or frequently used app. More RAM results into better multitasking. All RAMs are not created equally. They all have their own speed in terms of the rate at which they can take in and take out data from other components such as CPU and Storage. The speed of RAM is measured in terms of MHz generally and they are classified as LP DDR1 < LP DDR2 < LP DDR3, etc. in order of their capabilities. Now a days smartphone manufacturers use DDR3 for enhanced performance.
Today we have phones with RAM ranging from 512 MB to 4 GB. The basic need of a smartphone having a plenty of RAM is to execute different apps or games properly without lagging in running or taking time to load. For instance, If you want to play heavy graphics intensive games like Asphalt 8 or Dead Trigger you should choose at least 2 GB of RAM for good performance. Some low budget smartphones with 1 GB RAM are also capable of running these games like Swipe Konnect Me. But there are exceptions in the rows, some of them have 2 GB RAM but are still not capable of giving lag free operations.
Moreover, a phone might have 2 GB or 4 GB of RAM, but for users the amount of RAM available is usually lesser as some part has been reserved for pre-loaded apps. There are other factors also to consider. For instance, smartphones running on Android OS need updates frequently on several apps or the OS. In such devices even 2GB RAM is less. Here Apple's iOS is better because the OS update is not frequent.
Many smartphones have stock OS and have lots of preloaded apps which takes unnecessary memory allocations. So, users have limited space to choose for installing their favorite apps.
If you are interested in heavy graphics oriented apps (games, HD video, etc), then you must take into consideration the GPU of the phone as well. Faster CPU results in speedier operations. A powerful CPU allows you to process data faster. This means faster app opening, faster web page loads, faster games, etc. More RAM, on the other hand, lets your phone handle more tasks at once. Which could be more tabs in a browser, multitasking, faster response from the phone apps and UI.
So you need a balanced smartphone with good amount of RAM and it should be equipped with a faster processor also. For Android devices, as the smartphone software part needs a frequent update, so we suggest the user to go for at least 2 GB of RAM and if your pocket allows better go for a 3 or 4 GB handset. For Apple's iOS, 1 GB is sufficient as the phone updates once or twice a year. The configuration is good enough to give you lag free performance. For Windows OS, 1 GB is again sufficient as the OS does not update itself too often and is also light on system resources.
Qualcomm's Snapdragon series used to be the fastest, but now Samsung's own octa-core Exynos 7420 chip (inside the Galaxy S6) has taken the lead. Among Qualcomm CPUs, the octa-core, 64-bit Snapdragon 810 processor (inside the HTC One M9) is the top-of-the-line processor. Meanwhile, the six-core Snapdragon 808 chip (inside the G4) is almost as capable, though the 810 has better graphics.
Apple's 64-bit, 20-nanometer A8 chip delivers smooth performance on the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, enabling console-quality gaming (via Metal graphics). The A8 also comes with a new image-signal processor for better photos and videos. The Snapdragon 600 series powers mid range smartphones or entry-level handsets.
Suppose you have a phone with 4 GB of RAM and a dual core processor. You can't expect it beat a phone in performance which has 2 GB of RAM and a quad-core processor. Even though you have large amounts of apps and app data ready to be processed, the slower CPU just can't finish the task fast enough, so the slower CPU is the bottle neck here. So what's the point of having large RAM when you are not experiencing such a level of performance improvement?
They both affect speed. Both of them need to be on the same level of performance, neither of them should be a bottle neck. So you need a Balance smartphone having good size of RAM and should equipped with a faster processor also.
For Android devices, as the smartphone software part needs a frequent update so we will suggest the user to go for at least 2 GB of RAM and If your pocket allows better to go for 3 or 4 GB handset. One other for selecting more RAM is that Android devices lags when the free space is less.
For Apple's iOS, 1 GB is sufficient as the phone is updating once or twice a year. The configuration is tough enough to give you lag free performance even on less free memory available.
The sales of Android OS in smartphones dominates worldwide, and for good reason. Android offers a huge number of apps in its Google Play store. However, when a new version of Android arrives, it can take a while for the updated OS to hit your phone. You'll find many more choices than iOS or Windows Phone when it comes to design, display size, specs, capabilities and price. Plus, Android is an open OS, which means it's easy to customize with widgets, launchers, your choice of keyboard and more. Some Android-phone makers, such as Samsung and LG, trick out the software with additional enhancements, such as more-robust multitasking and easier access to settings.
With the latest version of Android, 5.0 Lollipop, the OS offers a slicker and more intuitive design, improved quick settings, and Priority Mode for showing the notifications only from people who matter most.
The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus run the latest version of Apple's operating system, which offers all sorts of enhancements. You'll find an improved Photos app, interactive notifications and the ability to swap out your keyboard. Plus, Family Sharing lets up to six people in your family share iTunes, books and app purchases.
The biggest reason to opt for an iOS device is its selection of apps. Apple's App Store tends to get the hottest apps and games before Android, partly because developers have an easier time targeting a smaller set of devices that have similar specs. By the same token, iPhones enjoy the broadest array of accessories, because there's less variation in design from one model to the next.
Windows Phone has never caught on, but the upcoming Windows 10 could change that. Developers should be able to easily port Android and iOS apps to the platform. Windows Phone offers some compelling features on its own, such as a dynamic Start screen and the Cortana digital assistant, but they haven't been enough to sway shoppers.
The company formerly known as RIM has struggled to win over shoppers with BlackBerry 10. On the plus side, there's a Hub that aggregates everything from email to social updates in one place. It's also fairly easy to multitask on these phones, and you can get a physical keyboard from the BlackBerry Classic. However, the UI is not intuitive, and the app selection is pretty skimpy.
How much internal storage? And what about storage expand-ability?
Go for as much internal storage as possible. We have games that takes around a 1 GB or more of space like Asphalt 8 and Dead trigger 2 having 500 MB of space. Smartphone users wants to store several movies and photos in HD format which is of course good for viewing but takes a lot of memory allocations. So we highly recommend opting for as much internal storage as possible. The minimum on most handsets, like the iPhone 6, is 16GB, but more phones (such as the Galaxy S6) are coming standard with 32GB or OnePlus 2 with 64 GB.We recommend 16 GB or more.
A microSD card can help expand your storage. It's available on phones such as the HTC One M9 and LG G4, ASUS Zenfone 2 Deluxe, but keep in mind that microSD can often store only a portion of apps. These cards are better for storing media. Flagship phones like Samsung Galaxy Edge, iPhones, OnePlus 2 don't have microSD card slot.
In this section the smartphone has basic functionality such as Calls,messaging, emails,camera,media player and with 512 MB to 2GB of RAM. The internal storage is up to 16GB. The segment users cant have a good choice of camera. Although exceptions like Lenovo K3 note, Yu Yureka plus is in the league.
In this price bracket you have 2 GB, 3 GB or 4 GB capacity of RAM you can have. You will also get good internal storage of up to 64 GB. These phones have good processor and you can say some of them are better than flagship phones in features like OnePlus 2 has a better camera and processor.
iPhones, HTC, Samsung Flagship phones rule here. Best camera, fast processor, loads of features like fingerprint scan, wireless charging, S-pen, Heat rate monitor and curved screen etc are present to enrich your experience of using smartphone.
Do you really need a 4G smartphone?
LTE stands for Long Term Evolution, which is the "new" generation of faster data connectivity for both GSM and CDMA technologies. Often referred to as 4G or 4G LTE, it's the speediest data throughput you can get right now. LTE Advanced, a step beyond LTE gives data speeds still another boost, and is rolling out in bits and pieces. Now a days from Micromax to Apple many phones have 4G ready. Although we recommend 4 G ready phones but still 3G phones are not bad.
Why is Gorilla Glass protection needed?
Gorilla Glass is a name of special toughened glass developed and manufactured by Corning, which is made from alkali-aluminosilicate sheet glass. Now in its fourth generation, the glass is designed to be thin, light and damage-resistant. Gorilla Glass has already been embraced by nearly every major electronics maker in the industry; Samsung, LG, HTC, Motorola, and Microsoft all use it on their smartphones and tablets.
This type of glass is not unique to Corning, other companies that produce such glass are: Asahi, Dragontrail and Schott AG Xensation.
Why do you really need finger print scanning?
Apple popularized fingerprint scanning for unlocking the phone, but it's made its way into other smartphones since. HTC ME, OnePlus 2 have it as well. Apple was the first to integrate fingerprint scanning with payment authentication, which is part of the feature known as Touch ID. On the iPhone 6 and above, Apple Pay will also use fingerprint scans for real-world payments.
The right battery capacity and backup time?
The higher the mAh, the longer the battery will last. You may have the best camera to capture images, solid hardware and software part, but if your phone is running out of battery, your handset is quite useless and it becomes a pain on your mind.
Bigger screens, extra cores, and more sensors mean greater power consumption. If you're considering a smartphone over 4.5-inches in size, look at devices that come with at least a 2000mAh battery.
Removable batteries seem to be falling out of favor with most smartphone makers. But there are some benefits to this kind of design, found on the LG G4 and Galaxy Note 4. Once your existing battery stops holding a charge for as long as it did when it was fresh, you can just buy a new one without having to pay for a replacement service or a new phone.
If possible, select devices that come with lithium polymer batteries over lithium-ion . The former are lighter, and also retain their charge for longer. And buy a device that comes with a user-replaceable battery.
Battery capacity is another spec that can help determine a phone's potential staying power, but be careful. In general, look for 2,600 mAh or more. Some examples include the Galaxy S5 (2,800 mAh) and Motorola Droid Turbo (3,900 mAh).


Londoners are paying four times as much stamp duty as the rest of the country, according to research from London Central Portfolio.
The property firm carried out a study of stamp duty returns for 2017, including the new additional rate stamp duty of 3 per cent for all additional property purchases.
While the average stamp duty paid by buyers in England and Wales was said to be £7,161 in 2017, London buyers paid £27,232.
It found that the most expensive 10 per cent of properties contributed around 60 per cent of all stamp duty receipts with Greater London the biggest contributor to stamp duty, providing an estimated 39 per cent of the total.
Kensington and Chelsea and the City of Westminster were found to have contributed in excess of £0.6bn.
In total, residential stamp duty receipts were found to have increased by £1.3bn in 2017 to a record sum of £9.5bn, largely as a result of the 3 per cent surcharge for second homes.
London Central Portfolio chief executive Naomi Heaton says: "Despite the continued rumble around whether the richest are paying their 'fair share', it is clear that they are the main contributor to Stamp Duty revenue.
"LCP's findings indicate that the majority of the Exchequer's £9.5bn tax take is being generated by the 10 per cent most expensive sales and that buyers in London are paying 4 times more Stamp Duty than the national average.
More news and analysis on London house prices.