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Posted on February 10, 2009 September 25, 2011 by Jinjirrie
Gaza Updates – Suffering & Injustice Continues
Many thousands of people are still homeless after Israel's attack on Gaza. Dwellings for rent are scarce as hen's teeth, rents are soaring, as are prices for even rudimentary bedding.
Some 4,000 homes were destroyed and about 17,000 badly damaged, according to a recent UN Gaza flash appeal. Some 50,000 people took shelter in UNRWA (UN agency for Palestinian refugees) facilities during the height of the conflict and tens of thousands have been staying in very cramped conditions with family and friends.
No'oman (who declined to give his family name) told IRIN he, his two wives and 10 children were given five minutes to evacuate their home in Neusarat on 8 January. His 16-year-old cousin was killed in the attack which completely destroyed his home.
"Our family lost everything – furniture, two cars, more than $500,000," said No'oman, who reckoned his home was targeted because his brother works with Islamic Jihad.
Hamas has given the family $2,000 as emergency relief compensation.
The family has taken shelter in a nearby unfinished building. The bare-bones structure lacks heating or a decent water supply.
Mattresses, blankets and plastic sheeting are hard to find in Gaza and have gone up in price. Thin mats can be found for 200 shekels (about $200); tents are not available, according to local residents.
"Hamas is providing quick relief for those whose homes were destroyed – between $500 and $2,000 per household," Hamas political leader Ghazi Hamad, head of borders and crossings, told IRIN. "And food assistance, like sugar, oil and blankets."
UN agencies like UNRWA and the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), as well as international aid organisations like CARE, are looking to buy building materials and emergency relief items on the local market, but say they are unavailable.
"We have allowed humanitarian supplies to enter Gaza. The question is about goods that might have dual uses, like fertilizer which can be used to manufacture explosives," deputy spokesperson of the Israeli Foreign Ministry Andy David told IRIN by telephone.
And cement is somehow linked with explosives?
"I found an apartment for the family for $180 per month, which is expensive," said Ahmed, now sleeping in his car. "I can't find a mattress – I am looking for blankets, but so far all I have is glass and a cooking gas cylinder."
Chris Gunness, an UNRWA spokesperson, said there was no longer anyone living in UNRWA schools or facilities and that 8,000 people had been relocated to apartments with monthly rent assistance from UNRWA. He also confirmed that hundreds of tents had been distributed.
In the north of Gaza, farmers and activists are being shot at by the Israeli military. The mainstream media are remarkably blind to the many acts of attrition committed by Israel since its declaration of a 'unilateral' truce, yet when a puny militant rocket lands in Israel damaging a car, the story dominates the news, and Israel retaliates with devastating air strikes.
This report is from the brave volunteers of ISM.
Israeli soldiers again opened fire on Palestinian farmers and international Human Rights Workers (HRWs) on Thursday 5th February, as they attempted to harvest parsley in agricultural land near the Green Line.
Returning to farm-land of Al Faraheen village, in the Abassan Jedida area, east of Khan Younis, where soldiers had opened fire on Tuesday 3rd February, farmers and HRWs were able to harvest the parsley crop for only half an hour, before soldiers again began to shoot. A number of shots were fired into the air, before the soldiers started to aim in the direction of the farmers and international accompaniment. Bullets were heard to whiz past, close to people's heads.
This behaviour on the part of the Israeli soldiers was an almost exact repeat of their response to the presence of the farmers and internationals, in the same area of farm-land, two days before. On the Tuesday, however, the group was able to harvest for two hours before soldiers began to shoot. Whilst farmers had hoped to be able to wait-out the shooting, in order to continue harvesting, it quickly
became clear that the situation was too dangerous for that to be possible.
The farmers of Al Faraheen are particularly aware of the level of danger they face when entering farm lands that are within 1 km of the Green Line – after watching their friend and colleague, 27 year old Anwar Il Ibrim, from neighbouring Benesela, killed by a bullet to the neck while he was picking parsely in the same area, just one week before.
Ma'an is reporting that moves to a truce are proceeding and are likely to be concluded with the existing Israeli government after the election. The new government won't be installed till 6 weeks or so after the election
Israel is continuing its collective punishment of the Gazan people by disallowing the transportation of cement through the borders.
Meanwhile, an Egyptian source said that Hamas and other factions will most likely agree on a truce on Monday.
Raffi Eitan, Israeli Minister of Pensioner Affairs, stated Sunday that a prisoner-swap deal could be conducted within the coming weeks.
Eitan, who is currently in charge of evaluating the demands of Hamas regarding the release of 1400 detainees, said that a swap deal could be concluded before a new coalition government is formed in Israel.
In an interview with the Israeli Army Radio, Eitan said that there is a strong possibility that such a deal will be concluded with Hamas by the current Israeli government.
"By experience, we know that forming a new government could take up to six weeks", Eitan added.
Furthermore, Israeli online daily, Haaretz, reported that according to Egyptian sources, Hamas agreed to the Israeli demand of linking the issue of fully opening border terminals with the issue of releasing Shalit.
Haaretz added that this issue allowed further progress towards declaring a ceasefire by connecting a full opening of the border terminals with the release of Shalit.
Yet, the Egyptian sources said that it remains unclear when a breakthrough would be achieved.
Haaretz reported that Egypt is promoting a plan which includes opening the crossing to function 80% of their capacity when a ceasefire deal is reached.
But Israel is still demanding to ban certain materials from entering the Gaza Strip; this includes cement and iron among other materials. Banning the entry of cement and Iron would prevent rebuilding thousands of homes and facilities destroyed during Israel's "Cast Lead" offensive.
Israel said that an agreement on cement and other materials would only be allowed reached after the release of Shalit, thus linking the fate of thousands of homeless residents with this issue, and placing further pressure on Hamas to accept the Israeli stance.
Here's another result of the inhumane border blockages – UNWRA may suspend aid delivery due to a lack of plastic bags.
The distribution by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency may end Monday because there are not enough plastic bags to hand out the food, a UNRWA spokesman told the Jerusalem Post.
The shortage is caused by a restriction on imports of raw materials into Gaza out of fear they will be stolen by Hamas. The pellets used to manufacture the bags are on the restricted list.
According to Press TV, republished in Palestinian Pundit, ICC lawyers intending to investigate Israeli war crimes, have been prevented by Egypt, for now at least, from entering Gaza.
The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) set up the committee. Four French and Norwegian lawyers comprise the committee. The ICC had earlier started preliminary analysis into alleged Israeli war crimes in the Gaza war.
French and Norwegian lawyers from Amnesty International on Thursday had attempted to enter the impoverished Palestinian sliver through Egypt's Rafah crossing with Gaza.
Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, as well as B'Tselem, and the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, have filed a lawsuit with the International Criminal Court (ICC) against alleged Israeli war crimes in Gaza.
The criminal case is expected to focus on the Israeli atrocities, including charges of using disproportionate force, white phosphorous bombs and depleted uranium in the densely populated area.
The group intended to collect evidence and testimonials on "Operation Cast Lead" which killed over 1,300 Palestinian and wounded nearly 5,500 others, a large number of them women and children. The evidence was to be submitted to the International Court before Sunday, February 8th.
Egyptian authorities, however, prevented the four member group from crossing the border, arguing that for now only displaced Palestinians can enter the territory thought the crossing.
Free Gaza activist Theresa McDermott has turned up in an Israeli dungeon.
Scottish activist Theresa McDermott has been found in Ramleh prison four days after she was "disappeared" by the Israel government after being forcibly removed from a seaborne Lebanese aid mission to Gaza. In early February Theresa responded to a call for support from internationals from the organizers of a Lebanese humanitarian aid voyage to Gaza aboard the Togo flagged ship, Tali. Theresa was one of only 9 passengers aboard the cargo ship on February 4, 2009 when Israeli gunboats intercepted it, boarded and forced the ship to Ashdod port in Israel.
All the passengers and crew aboard were released on Thursday, February 5 except Theresa. Between Thursday evening and Sunday morning there was no word about Theresa's whereabouts except several false stories saying that "Britons" had departed to London. Finally on Sunday, Theresa was able to call her brother John in Scotland to say she was in Ramleh prison in Israel.
According to Al Jazeera journalist Salam Khodr, when the ship was boarded, the passengers were beaten and kicked by Israeli soldiers before being removed from the ship.
No information has been provided by Israeli officials about why Theresa has been detained, what the charges are if any and why her detention was concealed. When the British Consulate in Israel was contacted for assistance in finding Theresa, staff refused to help locate Theresa saying they couldn't provide assistance to a UK citizen unless she personally requested it. Members of the Scottish Parliament including Pauline McNeil and Hugh O'Donnell, who were part of a fall delegation to Gaza aboard the Free Gaza boat, Dignity, are working with the British government to ensure that Theresa receives the protection and assistance to which she is entitled.
Theresa went to Gaza with the first Free Gaza boats in August and returned with the ship Dignity for a second voyage. She is a respected, long time human rights activist who has worked with the International Solidarity Movement in Palestine as well as with Free Gaza. At home in Scotland she works for the Post Office. The Israelis found only medical and other humanitarian aid on the Tali but refused to return the ship. The status of its humanitarian cargo is unknown.
Other snippets:
Israel war leaves crude graffiti in Gazan homes
Hamas is going all out to secure international recognition of Palestine's unique position as a nation of occupied, oppressed people yearning for a state.
Instead of offering a hudna with the Occupier, Marshouk wants only a tahdia – a period of calm.
Hamas regards its offer as a Tahdia, an Arabic word indicating non-aggression in a stand-off, usually described as a "calm". A longer-term Hudna, or ceasefire, would be withheld until a peace agreement that would see Israel withdraw from Palestinian territory.
"Israel owns the West Bank and Gaza Strip right now but if it withdrew from these and let the Palestinians have access to Jerusalem, we would turn our face to rebuild our lives and live alongside as in other parts of the world," said Mr Marzouk.
Two strands of indirect negotiations with Israel have converged. One arrangement would allow the rebuilding of shattered parts of the Gaza Strip in return for an end to rocket attacks. Another deal would see the release of a captured Israel soldier, Cpl Gilad Shalit, in return for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
Hamas are proving to be skilful negotiators – capitalising on Israel's abysmal stature in the world, an increase in Hamas popularity throughout Palestine and the advent of George Mitchell, for whom it appears they have respect. Holding out for an end to the occupation is the just, appropriate tactic and hopefully timing is right to achieve it.
"History has shown that you have to take by force your rights from Israel," said Mr Marzouk. "You can't make peace unless you make Israel pay the price of occupation. It's the only strategy."
Ultimately Hamas is waiting for President Barack Obama and his regional envoy George Mitchell to abandon what it describes as George W Bush's "with us or against us" approach, probably after the new Israeli government emerges after Tuesday's election.
"George Mitchell is a unique American, the first official to make a report calling on Israel stop the settlements," said Mr Marzouk. "He made peace in Ireland by allowing the Republicans to hold their dream while dealing with a different reality on the ground."
Tony Blair, the Middle East peace envoy, recently declared that direct negotiations with Hamas are inevitable but Mr Mitchell has insisted the US boycott will continue.
But Hamas senses its moment has come and is emboldened enough to claim its covert discussions with the West occur more frequently than in most alliances. "We talk to many official and unofficial agencies, sometimes two or three daily," he said. "They choose to keep the dialogue secret and we respect that, after all we can't say we are a normal country or a normal state party."
Secret communications with Hamas which should have averted a wasteful, criminal war against the Gazan people had not Israel's insane warmongers already planned their massacre several months prior are revealed by Gershon Baskin.
My talks with the Hamas leader in Europe focused on two main issues: convening a secret direct back channel and linking the prisoner exchange for Schalit's release to the renewal of the cease-fire and the ending of the economic siege on Gaza. For about two years Hamas has rejected the linking of the prisoner exchange with the cease-fire and the end of the siege. Since, however, this was the initial position of Hamas immediately following the abduction of Schalit, as was communicated to me some three weeks after the abduction – a call for a cease-fire, opening the borders and the prisoner exchange – I appealed to the Hamas leader to go back to the original demands, but to include an agreement to bypass the Egyptian mediators through a direct secret back channel.
I returned to Israel and 10 days before the war broke out I wrote to Olmert, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni that Hamas was willing to open a direct secret back channel for a package deal that would include the renewal of the cease-fire, the ending of the economic siege and the prisoner exchange for the release of Schalit. I further indicated that Hamas would be willing to implement the agreement on Rafah which included the stationing of Palestinian Authority personnel loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas in Rafah and a return of the European monitors. I communicated the same message to Noam Schalit and asked him to make sure that Ofer Dekel, who is charged with the Schalit file by the government, received the Hamas "offer."
I waited for a response from one of the people who received my letter.
Nothing. No response. When the war broke out I understood that the decision to go to war had already been taken and that the government preferred to teach Hamas a lesson rather than negotiate a new cease-fire and the release of Schalit. I understood that the leaders believed that they could bring about a regime change in Gaza, even if this was not the stated goal of the war. Why would we negotiate with Hamas if we expected to bring about the fall of Hamas?
OVER THE PAST DAYS the media has been filled with reports that there is a new breakthrough in the talks for the release of Schalit: "Hamas is willing to link the end of the economic siege with the release of Schalit." When I read this I said to myself – enough lies and spins.
What did this war achieve? What has changed? Has Israel gained its military deterrence? Has Israel changed the security reality in the South? Is Gilad Schalit at home? Has Hamas reduced its basic demands for the release of Schalit? No, no and no! Israel is negotiating now for exactly what could have been achieved without going to war. Israel spent $1 billion on the war, caused some $2 billion worth of damage in Gaza, more than 1000 people have been killed, thousands of lives have been destroyed. Hundreds of thousands of Israelis lived through weeks of terror; millions of Palestinians suffered the bombardment of their towns, cities and refugee camps – what is the result? More hatred, more extremism and more support for fanatics and their ideas – on both sides of the Gaza border.
If the transition government of Olmert does bring Schalit home before the new government is formed, it will pay the exact price that it could have paid nearly 950 days ago. The price then was as unreasonable as it is today; the problem is that there is simply no other way of bringing Gilad home. Hamas has not changed its price. The war in Gaza did not create any positive developments. It has not changed the price. It has not enabled a new breakthrough. It has weakened the moderate leadership of Abbas. It has weakened the moderates in Gaza. It did not achieve the goals that our leaders hoped it would.
The war was supported by 94 percent of Israelis because they really believed it was a "war of no choice." Lies, lies and lies. There was a choice. That choice was made – our leaders preferred war regardless of the cost. We don't negotiate with terrorists. We won't talk with Hamas. They don't recognize our right to exist, and we don't recognize that they were elected in democratic elections. Instead we hit them first and then we talk. We planned the war rather than planning how to avoid the war. That is the doctrine of the government. Now we can talk with Hamas? Isn't that what the government is doing today?
Perhaps the talks are not direct, but we are negotiating with Hamas.
The agreement that will be reached will be exactly what I proposed to Olmert, Barak and Livni 10 days before the war began.
More background information on the dispossession of the people of Palestine by the Zionist enterprise, by Stephen Lendman in his article, "A Short History of the Israeli – Palestinian Conflict: Past Is Prologue".
Al Jazeera offers a stellar interview with senior Hamas political leader Mahmoud al-Zahar who favours truce with Israel.
My attendance, along with a delegation of senior [Hamas] figures, reflects the real desire of Hamas's leadership inside and outside the Palestinian territories to end this crisis by upholding the truce in a way that guarantees the rights of the Palestinian people. To give them back their rights in rebuilding what the occupation has demolished via a ceasefire.
Al Jazeera: Is it believed such a truce would be for the benefit of the Palestinian people and Hamas and to lift the siege imposed on the Strip?
Zahar: Absolutely. Our project is not "armed action". The "armed action" is a part of the resistance.
We have repeatedly explained the concept of resistance. The resistance is, first rejection of the occupation and the injustice, the resistance is rejection of abuse of rights. This idea led to [the emergence] of Hamas, the Islamic resistance movement, under this name, before it fired a single bullet at the Jews.
Therefore, we want to continue the comprehensive programme of the resistance. But we also want to give ourselves a chance to rebuild what the occupation has demolished – as long as the Israeli side will stop its aggression against the Palestinian people.
Those who view Hamas as an enemy to Egypt are wrong. Those who believe that Hamas may be dangerous to the national security of any Arab state are wrong.
Al Jazeera: Do you view your movement as a resistance group or as a branch of the Muslim Brotherhood group?
Zahar: This is not the issue. Syria has very good relations with Hamas, but terrible relations with the Muslim Brotherhood group. More than 24,000 people were killed in 1982 by the Syrian regime and the Muslim Brotherhood group.
It is wrong to be confined by a particular experience.
CategoriesHuman Rights, Israel, Palestine, Politics, Zionism Tagscolonialism, Egypt, farmers, gaza, homelessness, Human Rights, Israel, land thieves, settlements, shootings, war
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
namespace Microsoft.Azure.Management.DataLake.Analytics.Models
{
    using Microsoft.Azure;
    using Microsoft.Azure.Management;
    using Microsoft.Azure.Management.DataLake;
    using Microsoft.Azure.Management.DataLake.Analytics;
    using Newtonsoft.Json;
    using System.Linq;

    /// <summary>
    /// A Data Lake Analytics catalog U-SQL table column item.
    /// </summary>
    public partial class USqlTableColumn
    {
        /// <summary>
        /// Initializes a new instance of the USqlTableColumn class.
        /// </summary>
        public USqlTableColumn()
        {
          CustomInit();
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Initializes a new instance of the USqlTableColumn class.
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="name">the name of the column in the table.</param>
        /// <param name="type">the object type of the specified column (such as
        /// System.String).</param>
        public USqlTableColumn(string name = default(string), string type = default(string))
        {
            Name = name;
            Type = type;
            CustomInit();
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// An initialization method that performs custom operations like setting defaults
        /// </summary>
        partial void CustomInit();

        /// <summary>
        /// Gets or sets the name of the column in the table.
        /// </summary>
        [JsonProperty(PropertyName = "name")]
        public string Name { get; set; }

        /// <summary>
        /// Gets or sets the object type of the specified column (such as
        /// System.String).
        /// </summary>
        [JsonProperty(PropertyName = "type")]
        public string Type { get; set; }

    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Home /CPA Journal Content/Book Review | Dear Accountant: Stories, Advice, and Explorations
Book Review | Dear Accountant: Stories, Advice, and Explorations
By Dan Torpey, CPA
Featured, December 2021, News & Views |
By Cece Leung; Lioncrest Publishing, ISBN: 978-1-5445-2114-5
Reviewed by Dan Torpey
Cece Leung's Dear Accountant is an innovative and creative work in accounting. It is both inspiring and entertaining, and provides a smorgasbord of enriching and helpful career journeys of extraordinary people—all of whom are accountants! The stories show professionals who have struggled, explored, and excelled in a variety of accounting and business disciplines, building a community of mentorship and insights this reviewer had yet to see compiled in the accounting profession.
Dear Accountant defies the stereotypes of accountants through real-world examples. I didn't find any boring bean counters. Although all the stories are worthwhile, I particularly enjoyed the following: Chuck, who grew up in the inner city of Detroit, now owns and runs a financial planning firm; Kurt, a cab driver, decorated Navy veteran, accountant turned professional corporate recruiter; Tom, a former Big Four partner turned financial crime novelist; and Kimberly, an accountant who failed the CPA exam her first time (like this reviewer) but went on to pass and ultimately became a technology and finance leader at a leading Silicon Valley technology firm. There are others, like an adrenaline junkie helping others climb mountains, or a podcast host focusing on the importance of collaborative teamwork. It's such an eclectic group of people that I felt like I was in the room with the "Avengers of Accountants."
The stories are inspiring, no matter where you are at in your career journey. For me, having served various roles in public accounting for more than 35 years, the stories reaffirmed what I have observed: accounting professionals who take the risk and branch out in the periphery are often rewarded with career fulfillment in more ways than they imagined. For accountants midstream in their career who may be questioning their next move, this book provides both a boost of adrenaline that insists, "You can do it!" as well as a laundry list of opportunities to consider. For aspiring recent accounting graduates, Dear Accountant will plant seeds to help them grow during their career.
Aspiring accounting professionals deserve the valuable insight and perspectives that brilliantly line the pages of Dear Accountant. The professionals in this book become mentors as you read through their stories and witness their honest, open, and often difficult career journey that demonstrates the routes that brought them where they are today. Furthermore, Dear Accountant may help answer questions that accounting professionals have early on, and empower them to walk into the field with clarity and excitement. The book covers topics such as the transition from an individual contributor to a leader; the process of realizing one's skills and leadership potential; and how to effectively delegate, take risks, ask for help, and adapt to a new environment. The stories take the reader across the country, continents, cultures, and industries.
Dear Accountant sets the stage for readers to see how the profession is not only expanding for those in public accounting, internal audit, or accounting departments, but also can be the starting point to many opportunities elsewhere in the business world. My dad, who was also an accountant and auditor for the state of New York for over 30 years, would say, "Starting your career in accounting presents many options, and there is never any shortage of jobs." Dad's advice rings true so many years later, as Leung has shown us. This book is essentially her love letter to all accountants, through the diverse individuals with a variety of experiences and backgrounds, reminding us all that the mission and purpose of our profession is to protect the public trust, do the right thing; and teach and mentor the next generation to help make businesses and individuals' lives better, which in turn will help make the world a better place for generations to come.
At the minimum, this book provides a community of mentors and stories that will illuminate the path towards personal fulfillment in the accounting profession. At the maximum, it's a never-before-seen take on what it is really like to be an accountant, how the best of the best got there, and which steps a promising accountant can start with to build themselves an incredibly meaningful career and make a positive impact in the world.
Dan Torpey, CPA, is a partner with Ernst & Young in Dallas, Texas.
Accounting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Resources
Tax & Accounting Update


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Still In Search Of A Deal, Merkel Faces A Crucial Week Of Coalition Talks
Published January 8, 2018 at 3:10 PM PST
German Chancellor Angela Merkel delivers a statement prior to a meeting in Berlin with conservative and Social Democratic party leaders.
It has been more than 100 days since Germany headed to the polls — but the next handful of days might matter more than all of them combined.
Since late September — when German voters handed Chancellor Angela Merkel a fourth term, albeit without giving her party an outright majority — the country has teetered without a new formal government. Unable to win the support of another party for a governing coalition yet, Merkel is now staring down the possibility that the monthslong standoff may force a new election entirely.
Enter: the Social Democrats.
On Sunday, Merkel embarked on preliminary coalition talks with the center-left party, also known as the SDP. They were her second choice — after similar negotiations with a separate pro-business party broke down in November — but it appears circumstances have forced her hand: Party leaders, both for the SDP and the center-right alliance fronted by Merkel, have given themselves until Thursday to determine whether a framework agreement is possible.
Now, the two sides are no strangers to one another. Far from it, in fact: They are partners in the caretaker government now steering the country, and their "grand coalition" of centrists has governed for eight of the past 12 years.
Yet the friendship one might expect of such long-connected factions has faltered in recent months. Both groups saw disappointing results at the ballot box in September, losing dozens of votes to smaller minority parties — which many lawmakers took to be a sign of dissatisfaction with the previous arrangement. Martin Schulz, leader of the SDP, even vowed on election night that the party would outright reject a place in any governing coalition and instead act as opposition.
Faced with the prospect of prolonging the political uncertainty of the past three months, Schulz relented on that pledge — at least for the sake of preliminary talks — but that does little to erase the growing policy differences between the two sides.
NPR's Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson noted on Morning Edition where those wedges rest:
"One is the issue of [European Union] reforms, which is on the table today. In other words: Does the EU or the member states — do they integrate more politically and economically or less so?
"The other issue is whether Germany will actually reach its 2 percent of GDP spending on defense in NATO, which is something that's being demanded by the Trump administration. The conservatives say yes, and the central Social Democrats say no.
"But the biggest hurdle is probably the refugee policy, because the conservatives are very worried that if they don't tighten this, that more voters are going to go to the Alternative for Germany party, which is a far-right party that is now in parliament."
Indeed, the AfG looms as a silent shadow over this week's talks. The once-marginalized party, which is serving in the German Parliament for the first time, has been denounced by all the other parties as xenophobic — yet it has been gaining in popularity, particularly amid an uncertain political environment.
Now the third-largest faction in Parliament, the AfG would have the opportunity to build on those gains if this week's talks fall through and circumstances force a new election. Though, as Soraya points out, the party could stand to gain even from successful negotiations, since a coalition between Merkel's conservatives and the SDP would make the AfG "the main opposition party, which brings with it major posts within parliamentary committees and more money."
Should this week's preliminary negotiations emerge with an agreement, it would be far from the final word on the matter. Party leaders would then need to bring the terms back to their own members, many of whom remain opposed to renewing a partnership with the other side. Only with those members' OK can full-blown coalition talks proceed.
Even in the swiftest possible scenario, Germans have many weeks left before they can arrive at a settled coalition at the helm.


It is known that in high-energy injuries with resultant pilon fractures the damaged tissues are usually on the brink of viability. The standard of surgical treatment today consists in plate osteosynthesis with wide surgical approaches and use of massive hardware. As result of the above, the limit of viability of the investing tissues often turns to be overstepped and irreversible necrotic suppurative complications develop, reaching 54 %. The purpose of the present work was to find the alternative minimally traumatic tactics during preoperative planning for surgical treatment of pilon fractures with combined use of distraction ligamentotaxis with help of rod devices and reposition osteosynthesis. Absence of prognostically significant necrotic suppurative complications and achievement of acceptable results of bone fragment reposition became the first result of using the suggested tactics in 34 patients with pilon injuries.
Guide internal osteosynthesis / M. E. Muller, M. Allgover, R. Schneider, H. Vellinger. — Springer-Verlag: Ad Marginem, 1996. — 586 р.
Dirschi D. R. Reliability of classification of fractures of the tibial plafond according to a rank — order method / D. R. Dirsch, S. T. Ferry // J. Trauma. — 2006. — Vol. 61, № 6. — Р. 1463–1466.
Orcu G. Intraаrticular fractures of the tibial plafond: a compression of the results using articulated and ring external fixators / G. Orcu, K. Artuglu // J. Bone Joint Surg. — 2004. — Vol. 86-B. — P. 868–875.
Thordarson D. B. Complication after treatment of tibial pilon fractures and management strategies / D. B. Thordarson // J. Am. Acad. Orthop. Surg. — 2000. — Vol. 8, № 4. — P. 253–265.
Ankin L. N. Trauma. The European standards / L. N. Ankin, N. L. Ankin. — Moscow, 2005. — Р. 432–438.
Aeberhard H. J. Der Einfluss der Platten — Uberbie gung auf die Torsionsstibilitat der Ostheosintese / H. J. Aeberhard: Inaugural dissertation, University of Bern, 1973.
The dynamiccompression plate / M. Allgover, P. Mattex, S. M. Perren, T. Ruedi. — Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York., 1973. — 687 р.
Trufanov I. I. Comprehensive treatment of intra-articular fractures of the distal tibial / I. I. Trufanov // Actual problems of medical science and practice of: Zaporizhzhya, 2008. — [Proceedings of ZMAPO]. — Р. 213–217.
Pobel A. N. Location pilon fracture fragments and their choice of method comparison and retention. / A. N. Pobel, I. I. Trufanov, V. S. Gotsak // Orthopedics, traumatology and prosthetics. — № 3 — 2011. — P. 111–116.


text:
Krig & försvar
Wright, Paul (ill.)
Illustratör/Fotograf
Paul Wright
Illustrations, unspecified
Mark Lardas
Tsushima 1905
Japan 1944-45
Mark Lardas, Adam Tooby, Bounford Com Bounford Com, Paul Kime
The Port of Houston
The Battleship Texas
The Cruiser Houston
American Heavy Frigates 1794-1826
Armies of the Great Northern War 1700-1720
Gabriele Esposito
French Armoured Cruisers
John Jordan, Philippe Caresse
Russian Battleships and Cruisers of the Russo-Japanese War
av Mark Lardas
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This book examines the major warships of the Imperial Russian Navy which participated in the Russo-Japanese War. The focus is on the battleships, coastal defence warships, and cruisers of the Pacific Squadron and Baltic Squadron that fought during the war. It discusses in detail their design and development between the years of 1885 and 1905, concentrating particularly on battleships and cruisers. The book explores, in depth, the mutually influential relationship between Russian and foreign warship design, as Russia progressed from a reliance on foreign designs and shipyards towards an ability to produce its own influential ships, such as the Novik. The title also outlines the gripping operational history of the Russian warships which participated in the Russo-Japanese war, tracing their activity before and during the combat, as well as the post-war fate of those ships which were bombarded, scuttled, captured, or salvaged. Packed with contemporary photography and full-colour illustrations, this title offers a detailed and definitive guide to the design, development, and destiny of the Russian warships which battled the Japanese in the Eastern seas.
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Mark Lardas holds a degree in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering, but spent his early career at the Johnson Space Center doing Space Shuttle structural analysis, and space navigation. An amateur historian and a long-time ship modeller, he has written extensively about modelling as well as naval, maritime, and military history. Mark is currently working in League City, Texas.
Introduction /Design and Development /Combat in the Russo-Japanese War /Ship Statistics /Bibliography /Index


During the long winter months, the vast majority of us dream about going across the surface of the water once again in search of adventures that provide moments of silence and joy. Here is my list of the top 10 things you should have on your fishing boat by the time the ice breaks up.
Bathymetric survey: Before even thinking about going offshore, the enthusiast must consult the latest available edition of the BlueChart G3 electronic bathymetric chart that includes Garmin and Navionics content or the paper version of the body of water he wishes to exploit. They will allow you to identify the navigation channels, the dangerous places to avoid and the potentially productive fishing areas. For example, if you have a sonar with the Quickdraw Contour function, you can create your own geo-referenced maps or modify them by adding data taken with this function.
Sonar: If you go fishing without a high-performance depth sounder, it's a bit like looking for a needle in a haystack. Manufacturers have developed all kinds of high-performance technologies. Just think of high-speed CHIRP probes, ClearVü and SideVü scanners. A few years ago, we saw the incredible Panoptix that offers highly detailed real-time images that are easy to interpret structures, as well as baits and fish that swim under and around your boat. The new version of Panoptix LiveScope is certainly the most amazing sonar technology of all time and it will put it all in full view for you.
GPS – The locator: Whether paired with your sonar or not, the GPS will allow you to find or relocate the best fishing sites. You will even be able to share your spots with your friends by simply transmitting the coordinates.
Electric Trolling motor: If you have not educated yourself about this type of device for a long time you will have some nice surprises. Imagine, a frontal model like the Xi5 from Motor Guide as an example that offers a very impressive GPS-guided anchoring system. It is even possible to record eight spots and eight different routes and put them in memory and ask the Xi5 to make us go over the same places. There is also a button called Jog that allows the user to move a few meters from its anchoring position to explore the surroundings and much more.
Downrigger: To target the fish that are suspended in the water column somewhere between the bottom and your boat, insert your fishing line onto a line release that is attached to a steel cable which is connected to a lead ball. The fish finder shows you where the fish are located and the downrigger counter allows you to lower your lure to the desired depth. The Scotty 2116 High Performance Electric ProPack with a long telescopic boom is equipped with heavy duty, adjustable dual rod holders and many other great features.
Power-Pole: I see more and more bass boats equipped with a Power-Pole. These large articulating shafts sink a spike into the bottom structure and allow the angler to position their boat during which time they can tease the targeted fish. Driven by hydraulic pressure, they can keep vessels up to 2,040 kg in position even in heavy winds and currents. This tool is ideal for people who are primarily chasing bass or pike in shallow waters.
Shock Absorbing Seats: When there are many waves, you and your passengers endure impacts from the choppy water. Shockwave Seats has developed the Shockwave S5 marine suspension module equipped with an air-sprung shock that absorbs the shock of a wave's impact. The Shockwave S5 is designed to fit with virtually any seat and is easy to install. The S5 and Shockwave's Corbin2 model seat are really great products to enhance the moments you spend on the water.
Planer Boards: It presents your offering perpendicular to the boat at approximately a 45 degree angle. This is a great way to fish near the shore where it would be dangerous to navigate. There are also several species of salmonoids that do not like swimming in the same path as your outboard motor. Then you can really target and catch these fish.
Full view: Underwater cameras have been providing incredible services to fishermen for several decades now. They allow you to instantly see, in image, as on television, what is under your boat or through the ice. Then you can really observe what happens under the water.
Propeller: One of the greatest factors having the most influence on your performance is unquestionably the choice of the propeller. At full capacity, with proper adjustment of the trim, your engine should turn to almost 6,000 rpm. Remember that a stainless steel propeller will not bend or deform like an aluminum one. You will have better control, you can still tip over the engine to reduce friction of the boat. With the right tool like a Enertia Eco, you will gain a few more kilometers per hour without fail.
Good fishing and happy shopping.
Previous articleA Tropical Cruise with a twist around the Toronto Islands.


Helen O'Callaghan hears how some niche early childhood educators are helping children to connect with and respect nature, themselves and each other.
FOR children, it's an eye-opener when they meet Ciara Hinksman, founder of Earth Force Education (EFE).
A dandelion leaf becomes a super-sour sweet. Nettles, with their high iron content, become 'nature's hamburgers'.
Hinksman is a nature connection mentor, visiting about 40 Irish primary schools a year.
Hinksman is a fan of Last Child in the Woods author Richard Louv. He points to evidence that shows an increase in 'nature deficit disorder' because childhood is now so removed from nature. Symptoms include lack of empathy, behavioural difficulties, isolation, obesity and arrested intelligence.
According to Hinksman, Louv's research finds that children's radius of activity has declined by 90% in the last 100 years — in the 1920s, they knew a six-mile radius around their home, today this zone of familiarity has shrunk to 700 yards.
"I walk my dogs a lot in the woods. Rarely do I see children climbing trees, damming streams, making mud pies or making dens. I rarely see them doing unstructured, unscheduled, free play on their own," says Hinksman.
The schoolchildren she meets know the exotic animals they see on TV — but they can't name Irish mammals, such as badger, stoat or otter.
Sally O'Donnell, manager of Glen Outdoor Early Education in Donegal, sees modern children's disconnect from nature reflected in their lack of interest even in going outside.
Hinksman asks how we can expect children to develop a lifetime passion for nature if we adults don't show them we value it.
EFE hosts British-based Circle of Life trainers in Wicklow to teach adults — who already have considerable experience working with children — how to bring kids out into nature.
Over three courses run in the last few years, more than 53 educators have so far been trained.
"It's important that teachers are nature-literate. If they value nature, it will filter down to the children," says Hinksman, who brings children out into their schoolyard so they realise that you don't need to go to the national park to get close to nature.
Children are encouraged to 'imagine a giant picking you up and putting you in a jar' so they don't shake or hurt the creatures. Afterwards they make a little habitat and return them to nature.
Hinksman says children naturally crave risky play. She teaches them to assess risk while ensuring there are safety guidelines.
Norwegian Steffen Erikson is manager of the nature kindergarten run by Park Academy Childcare in Kilruddery Estate, Co Wicklow.
Each day, 24 children aged from two to five years spend up to seven hours in the forest. The outdoors is their classroom — immersed in nature in all weathers, they learn the concepts in the early-years curriculum.
"They learn to observe and assess that the forest is safe. They clear the park of brambles that grow into the path. Last week, we identified [with the children] a lot more sycamore and laurel in the forest than beech and oak.
Erikson says children love the elements — fire, water, soil, mud.
The children learn to use tools safely under supervision – whittling wood with potato-peelers, helping break wood with a mallet. Through a 'spider web' – fishing net tied to four trees like old-fashioned trampoline — they learn balance and communication.
"Only four are allowed on at a time. If they don't listen to each other, they stumble against each other, so they learn to have fun while being aware of others.
In Donegal, at O'Donnell's school of mostly pre-schoolers, with some seven or eight-year-olds coming after school, the children plant seeds, whittle timber to make pegs for holding down tents, knot ropes to put up swings and build with blocks and crates.
O'Donnell says forest education brings wide-ranging benefits, from better development of fine and gross motor skills to increased personal confidence, from resilience to being excellent risk assessors.
For her, bringing your child to the playground/park doesn't compare to being in nature.
* Plant potatoes in a barrel, plant flowers, herbs, a gooseberry bush. Put gooseberries on a plate and children won't bother to try them, says Sally O'Donnell of Glen Early Education Centre. But they will if they are encouraged to pick them off a bush.
* Put a sandbox out the back. Children can crawl, climb, build castles, mix up concoctions. Give them spoons and empty bean cans.
— Make a mini-creatures home, using twigs, leaves and stones.
— Proceed to build bigger, knee-high shelters, using similar natural materials.
— Family builds a big shelter together.
— Crane your neck and look up into the trees. Crouch on the ground and take a closer look at what's under your feet. What do you see?
— Follow your nose and sniff things – lichen on branches, wet leaves, flowers and bare earth.
— Chase a sound: close your eyes, stand still and listen carefully. What can you hear?
— Creep and crawl, peer under bushes, peep into tree roots, crawl through long grass, lie on the ground to see the woods from a bug's perspective.
— Take a breather: stop and sit still for five minutes. What new things do you see, hear, smell and feel.
* On wet days, get kids to make mud pies. Mix different natural items in or on top, so the mud pies have different 'flavours' — pine cones, feathers, leaves, twigs.


Psalm 89#In Hebrew texts 89:1-52 is numbered 89:2-53.
A maskil#Title: Probably a literary or musical term of Ethan the Ezrahite.
and make your throne firm through all generations.' "#89:4 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the end of verses 37, 45 and 48.
6For who in the skies above can compare with the Lord?
8Who is like you, Lord God Almighty?
and by your favor you exalt our horn.#89:17 Horn here symbolizes strong one.
and through my name his horn#89:24 Horn here symbolizes strength. will be exalted.
46How long, Lord? Will you hide yourself forever?
47Remember how fleeting is my life.
52Praise be to the Lord forever!


By road, Parkes is 365km west of Sydney, 995km from Brisbane, 732km from Melbourne, 1,067km from Adelaide and 306km from Canberra.
Parkes is conveniently located on the Newell Highway providing easy access to Melbourne, Brisbane and all the towns in between.
Click here to plan your road trip to Parkes.


Located in in Palm Beach County, Florida, Jupiter is a tropical small town with a "big city" vibe. Home to the iconic lighthouse, the town is home to top-rated restaurants, old-world shops, live entertainment and all sorts of water sports. It offers a wide range of cuisines to please your taste buds, boating and fishing, trips to the lighthouse, Back swing at popular Abacoa Golf Club, splendid Waterfront dining and beautiful parks such as Jupiter Beach Park, Dubois Park, Carlin Park and Ocean Cay Park.
Shifting is a tricky business and you need to have an organized plan to initiate the process methodically. You need an experienced and reliable moving expert to guide you through every little step of your move. No need to waste any more time in further contemplation since SMS Moving is here to aid and abet you at every step of your relocation journey. With the founders holding an experience of 20 long years in the industry of relocation services, SMS Moving is the most trust-able and credibly sound option if you want your moving process to be seamless and carefree. As the company is based in South Florida, it provides affordable and efficient moving services to customers in Broward County, Palm Beach County and Miami Dade County. The company is fully licensed, insured and bonded. It follows the crucial Full-value Protection Plan that refers to the concept of making extreme efforts to protect your personal assets from being mishandled in any form under unfavorable conditions such as theft or rain , during the shipment.
Residential moves call for you to be overly cautious and well-organized. With immense experience, vast networks and resources, the SMS Moving guarantees to make your residential move a big-time success. The team has professional expertise in handling household moving, apartment moving, as well as condos.
SMS Moving are dedicated to offering you ways to make your move perfectly fit with your schedule as well as your financial constraints as moving requires a combined planning for your time and your budget. You can benefit from their expert moving resources. Starting from surveying your household to assessing your scheduling and service needs, this Door to Door mover aims for a comfortable move. The diligent team helps to navigate you through the entire moving process with a detailed checklist and moving plan.It gives a more personalized approach to your moving and addresses all your needs from start to finish. The team is dedicated to providing a Personal Moving Plan that meets the needs of all of its customers. The Moving Plan is tailor-made to fit your budget, time and your moving needs. Their moving methods is sure to touch your life. They recognize that each household move is different, and strive to provide a variety of moving resources highly geared to offer a more personalized and comfortable moving experience. Each mover is trained to pack your home with the utmost care and respect for your belongings.
Commercial moves can be infuriating as it involves great responsibility in moving of a huge quantity of electronic devices of the entire workforce of the office. These services include moving of professional businesses, be it big or small, offices, government buildings, hotels, restaurants, and many more. Their responsible team makes every possible measure to incorporate every latest technique to make the office relocation process a highly secure and pleasant experience for you and your employees. Their warehousing service and prompt team co-ordination addresses the needs of your business as well as concerns regarding your budget. The team of dedicated professionals walk the extra mile to ensure a well-timed and planned execution with their best facilities and top-rated resources, irrespective of your company's size. Your valuable office assets such as the electronic devices, equipment and furniture are taken special care of and stored in safe and secure warehouses. With several years of experience, they have the expertise to guide your employees step-by-step throughout the relocation process. Such an expert move management and unparalleled resources for transition makes your challenging move carefree and pleasing The team might come up with specific services and bring about flexible corporate moving solutions to fulfill your business expectations. . The workforce believes in the mission of providing quality service to you and your employees, relieving you of the moving pressure while clinging to your budget criteria.
Hire SMS Moving to experience the real fun of moving to a new place. All you need to do is give them a call at 954-282-5246 or email them at info@specialtymovingservices.com. Follow the same to receive free moving quotes. One of their expert professionals shall voluntarily get in touch with you to answer any questions you may have. You can also fill out their online Request Form to let them know your specific needs and one of their representatives shall contact you in a short while to discuss your moving concerns .


•	Are you a finance professional?
•	Do you use spreadsheet models?
•	Do you want to learn how to build spreadsheet models?
•	Do you need to achieve consistency in models across your team?
•	Do you want to incorporate best practice into your models?
•	Do you want others to be able to use your models in the future?
Spreadsheet modelling (sometimes referred to as financial modelling) is essentially a set of best practice techniques to achieve consistency across your spreadsheets. The two of the key benefits of spreadsheet modelling are 'control' and 'succession planning'.
Spreadsheet models are built with controls in mind and with the aim of eliminating spreadsheet errors.
Spreadsheet models are designed so they are easy to understand and use, with a transparent design and documentation. This ensures that they can be used across teams and over time as people leave and join the team.
This training course builds on our Spreadsheet (Excel) Skills for Finance course.
It is designed for experienced excel users who need to learning modelling techniques.
Spreadsheets are fantastic business tools and we hardly utilise their potential. This course aims to 'get you up to speed' and give you an insight into excel's true potential.
This is a very practical hands-on course which is delivered by actually building a live spreadsheet excel model. We will use an illustrative financial model, used for forecasting financial statements throughout the course.
•	A basic level of excel and IT literacy is assumed.
•	Delegates must have already attended our Spreadsheet (Excel) Skills for Finance training course or pass an entry interview with our presenter. This is a fast paced course and we need to make sure that all delegates have a minimum level of expertise before attending.
•	Delegates should bring a laptop with excel loaded.
•	Laptops can be provided, if required, for an additional fee if required.
•	We limit the course to 10 delegates to ensure enough individual attention is given to each person.
We take an open friendly and enthusiastic approach to learning with spreadsheets. We believe that people learn more effectively when they are enjoying themselves. We make excel interesting for you.
We love questions and welcome as many as possible. We encourage an open atmosphere which in our experience accelerates the learning process.
We always use a large practical spreadsheet model on this course we believe this really helps our clients to understand concepts. We find that people only really learn when they test their understanding through practice.
•	Waiting list is now open for our next course.
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Simply fill in the form below to add your name to our waiting list or make an enquiry. Places will only be confirmed following a pre-course interview with our presenter.
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Broaden your observations beyond what you seek and the obvious details before you. We help you enlarge your field of opportunities to fully understand the Hispanic Market and enable the scope of your innovation goals.
When good vision is met with consistent execution every day, the result is a stable, growing pipeline of Hispanic products and services. Our team works closely with you create & implement your Hispanic strategy with proper timing and depth.
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Exceed the unique needs of Hispanic consumers to increase the frequency and sustainability of the revenue stream pipeline. Share the momentum of your outcomes to continuously resow new Hispanic business opportunities.
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text:
Q: Is there a safe way to specify the value of an object may be uninitialized because it is never used? Disclaimer: The following is a purely academic question; I keep this code at least 100 m away from any production system. The problem posed here is something that cannot be measured in any "real life" case.
Consider the following code (godbolt link):
#include <stdlib.h>

typedef int (*func_t)(int *ptr); // functions must conform to this interface

extern int uses_the_ptr(int *ptr);
extern int doesnt_use_the_ptr(int *ptr);

int foo() {
    // actual selection is complex, there are multiple functions,
    // but I know `func` will point to a function that doesn't use the argument
    func_t func = doesnt_use_the_ptr;

    int *unused_ptr_arg = NULL; // I pay a zeroing (e.g. `xor reg reg`) in every compiler
    int *unused_ptr_arg; // UB, gcc zeroes (thanks for saving me from myself, gcc), clang doesn't
    int *unused_ptr_arg __attribute__((__unused__)); // Neither zeroing, nor UB, this is what I want

    return (*func)(unused_ptr_arg);
}

The compiler has no reasonable way to know that unused_ptr_arg is unneeded (and so the zeroing is wasted time), but I do, so I want to inform the compiler that unused_ptr_arg may have any value, such as whatever happens to be in the register that would be used for passing it to func.
Is there a way to do this? I know I'm way outside the standard, so I'll be fine with compiler-specific extensions (especially for gcc & clang).

A: Using GCC/Clang `asm` Construct
In GCC and Clang, and other compilers that support GCC's extended assembly syntax, you can do this:
int *unused_ptr_arg;
__asm__("" : "=x" (unused_ptr_arg));

return (*func)(unused_ptr_arg);

That __asm__ construct says "Here is some assembly code to insert into the program at this point. It writes a result to unused_ptr_arg in whatever location you choose for it." (The x constraint means the compiler may choose memory, a processor register, or anything else the machine supports.) But the actual assembly code is empty (""). So no assembly code is generated, but the compiler believes that unused_ptr_arg has been initialized. In Clang 6.0.0 and GCC 7.3 (latest versions currently at Compiler Explorer) for x86-64, this generates a jmp with no xor.
Using Standard C
Consider this:
int *unused_ptr_arg;
(void) &unused_ptr_arg;

return (*func)(unused_ptr_arg);

The purpose of (void) &unused_ptr_arg; is to take the address of unused_ptr_arg, even though the address is not used. This disables the rule in C 2011 [N1570] 6.3.2.1 2 that says behavior is undefined if a program uses the value of an uninitialized object of automatic storage duration that could have been declared with register. Because its address is taken, it could not have been declared with register, and therefore using the value is no longer undefined behavior according to this rule.
In consequence, the object has an indeterminate value. Then there is an issue of whether pointers may have a trap representation. If pointers do not have trap representations in the C implementation being used, then no trap will occur due to merely referring to the value, as when passing it as an argument.
The result with Clang 6.0.0 at Compiler Explorer is a jmp instruction with no setting of the parameter register, even if -Wall -Werror is added to the compiler options. In contrast, if the (void) line is removed, a compiler error results.

A: int *unused_ptr_arg = NULL;

This is what you should be doing. You don't pay for anything. Zeroing an int is a no-op. Ok technically it's not, but practically it is. You will never ever ever see the time of this operation in your program. And I don't mean that it's so small that you won't notice it. I mean that it's so small that so many other factors and operations that are order of magnitude longer will "swallow" it.

A: This is not actually possible across all architectures for a very good reason.
A call to a function may need to spill its arguments to the stack, and in IA64, spilling uninitialized registers to the stack can crash because the previous contents of the register was a speculative load that loaded an address that wasn't mapped.

A: To prevent the possibility of zero-ing with each run of int foo(), simply make unused_ptr_arg static.
int foo() {
    func_t func = doesnt_use_the_ptr;
    static int *unused_ptr_arg;
    return (*func)(unused_ptr_arg);
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


The 95 was introduced as a replacement for the Arrow, and it would be entirely correct to view it as a small evolutionary stage away from that model. With the caps left aside, there is little to tell one from the other apart from a very small difference in the tail decoration. When caps return to the consideration, it is rather easier to tell the two models apart, and not just because the cap is where the date code is stamped; the 95 has a much nicer clip, of the same sort as appears on the 88 which was introduced about the same time, and a stacked coin derby somewhat reminiscent of the 75 and not at all in common with the Vector. I say "nicer", which may be mistaken for a subjective appreciation based upon looks, but I mean it in a more objective way– it lacks the Arrow's gouging angles, and it less likely to shred both clothes and fingers.
The fact that Parker allowed both the 88 and the 95 to share space in the same catalogue is interesting. In terms of trim levels and prices, there was almost no difference beween these pens (the 95 had a little more of a top-end than the 88), but the small technical differences between them meant that apart from the clip each required entirely separate production lines. Either the company had great difficulty deciding on which of the two very similar models was going to florish, or they had a very clear notion that one or the other would do well depending on which region it was sold in. I have no evidence either way, but the fact that the 95 was withdrawn from production after six years while the 88 persisted for another decade and a half with no more than a name change suggests that the former speculation has the upper hand.
My own assessment of the two pens suggests that they made the right choice, although I'm not happy about it. I find the 95 a more aesthetically pleasing pen, with its rounded semi-hood and elegantly long and comfortable section. However, the way the cap posts onto the body is much more likely to produce scars on the barrel, and even if the balance achieved is slightly better it doesn't answer for the eventual scuffing of the pen. If the performance were notably better than the 88's, this self-injuring tendency might be more forgivable, but that is not to be; while the points are quite different shapes in the two models, neither is particularly better, and it stands to reason that the one which can be formed by the same machinery tasked with banging out vast swarms of Vectors would be favoured during a rationalization of the company's line-up… such as happened in 1994.
Production Run: 1988 – 1994.
Cost When New: Depending on trim level, from $27.50 up to $90.00 at the start of the run. About half-way along, there was a rise, the range dropping its low end and running from $55.00 on a formerly $40.00 model up to $95.00; the increases definitely affected the low end more severely (for modern value, try this calculator).
Size: 13.1 cm long capped, 14.7 cm posted, 11.8 cm uncapped.
Body: Brass with various finishes.
Parker 95; you can tell it's not as grand as a Parker 75 because it has a shorter hat.


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King Mark of Cornwall
King Mark of Cornwall was said to be the son of King Felix, who died after an Irish raid on his castle at Tintagel. In Arthurian legend Mark is portrayed as violent, treacherous and cowardly. He was said to have ruled Cornwall in the early 6th century. Legend describes him as cousin of King Arthur and uncle of Tristan. Mark sent Tristan to fetch his young bride, Isolde (or Iseult) from Ireland. Tristan and Isolde fell in love with a little help from a magic potion and their story has been told again and again. More modern versions of the legend include some by Thomas Hardy, John Masefield, Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch, John Erskine and John Updike.
There is some evidence for an actual historical figure who ruled Cornwall in the Dark Ages, such as that of the Welsh nobleman, March son of Meirchyawn. In the 9th century "Life of Paul Aurelian", Cunomorus ruled Cornwall in the early sixth century. Mark has been identified with this king who was believed to have had his seat at Castle Dore, near Fowey. Cunomorus is associated with Tristan on the famous Tristan Stone near Fowey, which commemorates Drustanus, son of Cunomorus.
Gorlois (Gorlais) - Mythical Duke of Cornwall
Cornwall Myths, Legends and Folklore


This show is for all of you who have a product or service to offer…or who want to someday. You, like me, are working hard to create something people want, right? You build and create something, then go out and offer it to the world! And hope…you got it right. What if you could just ASK people what they want, then provide it to them as they exchange millions of their dollars for what you have to offer?
Today we talk with Ryan Levesque. He's become famous with his ASK Method. However, it's not really that easy. To ask people what they want assumes they know what they want. And we often don't. We usually don't…not fully. But we do know…what we don't want. Or we know what problems we deal with that we wish would be solved. That is the punchline. Kind of. You also can't just ask anyone…not even anyone in your audience or demographic. You have to ask the right people. So we have an incredibly simple concept that is not super easy to figure out. But if you do…when you do…it has proven to be a magic touch.
In this conversation, we first hear Ryan's story, what took him from a young guy studying neuroscience…because his parents wanted him to get a "secure degree," to making six figures for a big insurance company, to ditching it all to sell jewelry from China made out of Scrabble pieces and origami, to a few more things — and then to significant fame and success with his ASK Method, which we get into because it's just…brilliant. Actually, I'd really implore you to go see what he's doing in his once-a-year offering by going to askmethod.com/ziglar . You'll find the majority of the entire Ziglar team participating, but as students. Ryan has used the ASK Method to help build multi-million dollar businesses in 23 different industries, generating over $100 million in sales in the process, and his student entrepreneurs have used the ASK Method in thousands of different industries to launch and scale their businesses online. Go, check it out…askmethod.com/ziglar.


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Home » Football » Leagues » Premier League » Graham can profit from Toon's woes at the back
Graham can profit from Toon's woes at the back
Shaun Curran | 17.12.2011
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It was always going to happen, wasn't it? As much as everyone was enjoying Newcastle's resurgence under Alan Pardew this season, the romantic notion that maybe you didn't have to spend millions to succeed in the rich man's plaything that is the Premier League couldn't last, with the last few weeks proving to be a stark reality check for the Toon Army.
A winless streak against the Manchester clubs and Chelsea is nothing to be ashamed of, but injuries to Chiek Tiote, Steven Taylor and club captain Fabricio Coloccini have left the wafer-thin nature of the squad badly exposed and a 4-2 defeat to Norwich City last weekend shows how difficult it will be for Newcastle to compete without their first-choice XI.
Now this isn't to say Newcastle will just slide away into the bottom half – they are still well placed to finish as the best of the rest, which would still be a fine achievement – but in the meantime, Toon fans may have to accept the sticky patch that might well follow.
In that defeat to Norwich last weekend, Newcastle defended like they'd just met each other in the dressing room, hungover after a night out on the Bigg Market. But what do you expect when you are forced to employ Danny Simpson and James Perch, inadequate full-backs at the best of times, in central defence?
Astute as ever, Paul Lambert recognised the problem and ruthlessly took advantage and the equally bright Brendan Rodgers will be looking to do the same when his Swansea City side visits the Whatever-Mike-Ashley-Calls-It-These-Days Stadium on Saturday.
As a result, look to Danny Graham to be the man to profit at 13/2 to open the scoring and 9/5 to score at any time.
In that defeat to Norwich last weekend, Newcastle defended like they'd just met each other in the dressing room, hungover after a night out on the Bigg Market.
Grant Holt netted twice last weekend and Graham, who after a slow start has five Premier League goals to his name, will no doubt be licking his lips at the ease in which the Norwich hitman breached the Toon defence. Two of Graham's goals have been the first of the match and at 13/2, he is reasonably priced to make it three.
The way Newcastle conceded those goals at Carrow Road last Saturday – all from crosses, three from set-pieces – means it may be worth a small play on an outsider.
Swans defender Ashley Williams has scored already this season, away at Chelsea from a Mark Gower set-piece, and at 28/1 to score first and 8/1 any time could be worth a look. Williams has a decent enough scoring record, having scored three and five goals in the last two seasons.
Having explicitly stated the extent of Newcastle's defensive woes, it must be said their attacking prowess is still intact and they are playing a side that are yet to win an away match and have conceded 18 goals in seven trips away from the Liberty Stadium – a record only Bolton can beat.
Extremely unlucky not to score against Chelsea in their last home match, it must be remembered they actually scored twice last week. Well I say they, but I really mean Demba Ba, who at 7/2 to score first and evens at any time is realistically the only Newcastle player you can back with any conviction.
I tipped Ba to score at Old Trafford a few weeks back and he duly obliged by netting the controversial penalty that earned Newcastle a 1-1 draw. That goal was one of 11 league goals this campaign – more than half the 21 Newcastle have managed in total.
If something was to happen to Ba, you would really begin to worry for them, but luckily he's fit and well and has to be backed against a side whose away record is statistically the worst in the division.
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A Beautiful
The Emöke Legend from a novella of the same name, and a two-hour TV drama Poe and the Murder of a Beautiful Girl, based on Edgar Allan Poe's story The Mystery of Marie Roget. Three very successful TV serials were made from his stories: Sins for Father Knox, The Swell Season and Murders for Luck.
…Şuşanın dağları başı dumanlı — Azerbaijani patriotic folk song about Shusha, where this town is compared to a beautiful girl. This song was written by famous Azerbaijani khanende (mugam-singer) Khan Shushinski, and after his death was folklorizied. The song is performed with accomponement of tar and kamancha.
…Ġebel San Pietru is a hill in Malta, located on the Għargħur Hill, with an altitude of 150 metres (492 ft). Near this point you can find a beautiful walk, which foreign people call it Top of The World, while locals call it l-anċirietka. The street is officially named 'Għaxqet L-Għajn'.
…Čelevec is a small village in the western part of the Demir Kapija Municipality of the Republic of Macedonia. It mostly consists of Turkish inhabitants. The people are very traditional and the village itself is located in a beautiful wooded…
…Āina-kāri is a kind of interior decoration by putting small pieces of mirror together in geometric forms or in forms of flowers and shrubs. By this art, a craftsman creates a beautiful shining space in a building with cut mirrors in…
…Þórsmörk, a beautiful valley below the glacier Mýrdalsjökull, is also not too far away.
… topmost points of the roofs, the smaller one at the front of the Church towards the west, offered a beautiful sight from afar to people coming to the island. The larger one, in the middle of a four armed structure rested on four columns…
Zushonosuke's search is initially fruitless, though it leads him to a chance encounter with a beautiful woman bathing in a lake. Zushonosuke falls in love with her at first sight.
… head of their body, chanting the Ustavaiti Gathas with joy, while a wicked person sits at the feet of the corpse, wails and recites the Yasna. Zoroastrianism states that for the righteous souls, a beautiful maiden, which is the…
… superb, but was disappointed with what was underneath. He wrote Chevrolet chief engineer Ed Cole that it would be his complement to work on such a beautiful car; he also included a technical paper which proposed an analytical method of…
Zola – A beautiful Austrian opera singer who dresses like Catwoman and doubles as an assassin for the Organization. A sub-boss to Sofia.
Zoe (Bárbara Mori) is a beautiful woman who has been married to Ignacio (Christian Meier) for nearly a decade. While Zoe still loves her husband, she feels the spark has gone out of their relationship, and she's become restless and…
Zinghmuh mountain is relative rich in flora and fauna. The mountain is home to a beautiful Rhododendron, locally known as Chokhlei and known by the Burmese as Taungzalat. The species found on Zinghmuh mountain is known as R.Forrestii. The…
Zillah: Ephraim's mom. A beautiful woman who carries herself with great dignity and charm. She puts her son and her husband first in all things. Wears beautiful jewelry and fine linen dresses. Her style is a bit more Egyptian than Jewish, and her favorite color is purple.
Zeng Li as Consort LianYuan Ling's mother. A beautiful and scheming woman.
Zeek: Ephraims pet. He's a beautiful falcon, with sharp markings, an angular beak, and piercing eyes. He has big, sharp talons, which he gestures with as he speaks. He exudes confidence – and with excellent vision, he keeps an eye out for danger.
Zara is a beautiful vulnerable young London woman that goes through her life in a dream-like haze. She falls in love with an American expatriate aspiring theatre director, whom she idolizes as perfect.
… with cast of two singers, Zanetto was originally described by its composer as a scena lirica (lyric scene) rather than an opera. It is set in the countryside near Florence during the Renaissance and tells the story of an encounter between a…
Zandi has also shown potential when taking free kicks. In Iran's 2-1 victory against Azerbaijan, Ferydoon Zandi shot a beautiful freekick that curved around the defensive wall and into the net, from a couple of meters outside the box. He…
Zainab (Resham) is a beautiful girl who is deeply in love with her cousin Sheraz (Faisal Qureshi) and is also committed to him. But Sheraz witnesses certain events which he misinterprets and hence, believes Zainab to be involved in affairs…


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Jonathan Franzen at the Laundromat
Posted on October 10, 2015 by Alexandra Erin
The first time I meet him, I'm in an almost-empty laundromat. It's the height of the August heatwave. I'm folding my towels when he comes in. His hair is tousled. He wears a rumpled, button-up shirt with a ten-year-old blazer that was already ten years old when he bought it from a Salvation Army.
I know this, because he tells me it. I haven't asked. He tells me he'll forgive me for not having asked, this once.
He has a laundry basket full of damp clothes he's brought with him. He makes no move to unload it.
"Oh, these are already clean," he says. "Insofar as anything can be that has been touched by the detritus of a human life. I wash them by hand, one sinkful at a time. I could pay someone to do it, and it would probably be better. The first sinkful, I thought went pretty well. The second one, I enjoyed. From the third onwards, it was torture. Sheer torture. I dry them on the line afterwards. There's something almost painfully authentic about a shirt that has breathed the same air as the city, don't you think?"
"I have literally never thought that," I say.
He gives a nearby front-loading washer an apologetic look.
"That was a quotation from James Joyce," he says.
"No, it wasn't," I say.
"I'm a little embarrassed for you that you didn't spot it."
"It wasn't Joyce," I say.
"It was Joyce," he says. "Joyce Carol Oates."
"Jonathan Franzen," he says. "Just now. When I said it, just now. Hi, I'm Jonathan Franzen. You might well ask, what is Jonathan Franzen doing in a mid-town laundromat with a load of already-washed, partially-dried laundry?"
"I'm really just here to…"
"I admire the fact that you feel you can do better with your half of the conversation on your own," he says. "Most people would be too intimidated."
"Fine," I say. "What are you…"
"What is Jonathan Franzen…"
"What is Jonathan Franzen doing in a mid-town laundromat with a load of… of already-washed, partially-dried laundry?"
"I like the experience of freshly-dried laundry," he says.
"Have at it," I say, waving at the row of empty dryers.
"Of course, I feel a wave of crushing guilt and despair every time I fire up one of the dryers," he says. "That's what we're all supposed to do, right?"
"I think I missed that memo," I say.
"Because of the carbon emissions. So why should I feed that machine?" he says. "I don't believe in paying for something to do what I could do myself. It's how I maintain my essential connection to the struggle of poverty that defines America in the middle class teetering on the fulcrum of extinction."
"Aren't you an actual millionaire?"
"Only in a literal sense. You are burdened with a rather pedestrian and limited view of poverty," he says. He gives a helpless look to a nearby empty cart. "Most people do, in my experience. I have had the humbling advantage of having explored what it is to be poor at a multitude of tax brackets."
"That's the opposite of being poor," I say. "The exact opposite."
"Sometimes you can only understand something for the first time when you see it from the outside," he says.
"And sometimes the only way to understand something is to see it from the inside," I say. "Being poor is like that."
"Ah, I thought as much," he says.
"I knew you were going to find something to hate in what I said no matter what happened, so I made sure to give you something to latch onto," he says. "What's the point in fighting? I can't take who I am and mash it down into a package you'll find palatable, so I might as well just say what I mean. I cannot live an artificial life, and that is why the world hates me."
He delivers this last line to the glass door of a nearby dryer, as if he's speaking to his reflection, or possibly believes a camera is hidden there.
"So…" I say, trying to find the actual thread of the conversation again. "You bring your clothes into the laundromat for a while because you like the experience, but you don't actually put them in the washer or dryer because you also want to experience poverty?"
"No, that would be silly. Don't be ridiculous," he says. "What I do is I wait for someone to take his or her clothes out of a dryer with time left on it, and then I put mine in."
"So you're going to sit here until I'm done with my laundry and hope I don't run the dryer out?"
"I can count on it," he says. "You have no book with you, nothing to distract you from the insufferable, oppressive reality of this place. You will be checking your garments every ten minutes."
I hold up my phone.
"Got my books right here," I say.
"Ah," he says, giving a skeptical sidelong glance to the detergent vendor.
"One of those."
"I shall take my leave of you," he says, hefting his laundry basket. "Good day."
And that was the first time I met Jonathan Franzen.
This entry was posted in Noisy Nonsense and tagged satire by Alexandra Erin. Bookmark the permalink.


I've waited a couple of weeks to write about this book, but my thoughts still haven't settled. They are like the birds at the feeder, startling up at the slightest shadow into a flurry of wings. Ondaatje's books always give me plenty to think about, and this one is no exception.
The first part is about Anna and Claire, two teenaged sisters who live on a farm in Northern California with their father and a young man named Coop. The father had brought Coop from the neighboring farm to help with the work and learn to be a farmer after Coop's family was murdered. Older than the girls, Coop moves out to and restores the cabin that the girls' grandfather had built when he first came to stake his claim. The story moves between the three young people, circling around the incidents and stories that make up their past.
Later sections follow Anna, Claire and Coop as they move out into the world, scattered by an act of violence. Only Claire returns regularly from her job in San Francisco to visit her father and ride the high ridges of the farm. Coop has become a gambler, while Anna is in France, researching the life of a nearly-forgotten poet, Lucien Segura. She lives in his now-empty house and meets a young Romany named Rafael who once knew the author.
There are lovely structural parallels in the story. Rafael, Segura, and the three young people all are affected by fathers and stepfathers, their crafts and mistakes and disappearances. Segura's empty house echoes the grandfather's abandoned cabin and the deserted town of Allensworth in Southern California which Anna stops in during her flight from her father. The Central Plain of California, stark and barren, through which she travels was once a sea of flowers, like the depression in Segura's lawn that was once a pond. The story moves in and out of the past, setting up reflections and remnants.
Anna walks Segura's paths, swims in his stream, and sits at his blue table translating his work. She learns that she can hide in art, take refuge in the third person. I love the moment when she falls in love with the task, listening to Segura read some of his work on an old cylinder. "There was a sweet shadow and hesitance in Segura. it was like a ruined love, and it was familiar to me." It reminded me of a recent conversation with my friend, Steve, when he told me of a casual comment that made him want to know more, and thus set him on his life's work. It also reminded me of a recent Writer's Almanac segment about Stephen Ambrose and how a professor's comment that a research paper "would add to the sum of the world's knowledge" changed his life.
The last part of the book gives us what Anna will never know: Segura's story. We find out why he left his family to come alone to the house where she sits, how Rafael met him, and why the blue table is important. Whole peoples have gone, whole towns deserted or drowned. We wonder about the Anasazi, the Mayans, the Minoans. We read about Colette or Wague and wonder What was it like to be you? The birds rise up again and then resettle in a different pattern.
I like reading books set in familiar places, but can also be entranced by those set in places where I'd like to go. Cara Black's mysteries featuring Aimee Leduc as a detective who mostly works computer security are set in Paris, a place that is high on my bucket list. Leduc is assisted by René Friant, only four feet tall, but dapper and wise.
On the very first page, as Leduc struggles to finish a system upgrade within the deadline, this story is launched by a phone call. A woman's voice begs her to go down to the courtyard, promising that it will only be for a few hours. When Leduc, armed with her Beretta carefully explores the courtyard, she finds a baby hidden behind the garbage containers. And we're off into a whirl of danger made even more frenetic by her attempts to care for the baby.
Black draws even the most minor of characters with a fine brush, such as the homeless man, Jules, with whom she takes refuge, or Jean Caplan who owns a dusty second-hand shop and tries to watch out for and feed Helene, an elderly woman whose life is packed into shopping bags. Black captures both the young and rebellious heir to a long-gone Polish monarchy and his uncle, an elderly Count hanging onto his memories, avoiding stereotypes and bring them both alive with small details and surprising inconsistencies.
Where Black really shines, or at least what delights me most are her descriptions of Paris, the back streets and hidden courtyards, the stones lining the Seine, the tunnels below. Leduc lives on the Ile Saint-Louis, a small island in the middle of the river, originally a "feudal island fortress", now only eight blocks long and three blocks wide whose inhabitants refer to the rest of Paris as "the Continent". Black shades the people and places with subtle references to the city's past. The faded aristocrats and the down-and-out both suffer the long reach of tragedy.
This is yet another excellent entry in the series: smart, fast-paced and full of heart. I highly recommend it.
I hadn't read anything of Styron's since Sophie's Choice but picked this up because I was spending a week in the Tidewater area of Virginia. The three stories making up the book are linked by having a common protagonist, Paul Whitehead. Set during the Depression and World War II, the stories present Paul's memories, based, as the Author's Note tells us, on Styron's own experiences. The tone of the stories avoids nostalgia and sentiment, giving us the boy's experiences unmediated by the experience of age.
The third story, which provides the name of the collection, is a masterpiece. On the morning in question, a brutally hot one, Paul is awakened at 1 a.m. by his mother's scream. In the last stages of cancer, her pain cannot be mitigated even by the morphine delivered by the night nurse. Forgotten, Paul lingers around the edges of the house where his mother is dying, overhearing his father's increasingly despairing conversations, taking comfort from the maid, Flo, who is legendary in the town for her crankiness, and examining his own memories of his parents arguing.
If I were teaching a class on the short story, I would have the students study this one carefully. It succeeds on all levels. The word choice reflects the vocabulary of a thirteen-year-old boy who likes to read, as we know from the books in his room. The things that he thinks about and notices—his guilt over drinking directly out of the water bottle in the refrigerator, the rankness of the chicken necks boys are using to catch crabs, his worry over what the changes in his body mean—are also typical and beautifully rendered in sentences that ache with clarity and emotion.
The organization of the story amazes me, the way answers are given and withheld, the echoes and repetitions, the gentle foreshadowing, the voices of the people in his world. Gruff Mr. Quigley docks Paul's pay for every soda and harangues Ralph, the store drudge, yet shows his compassionate side first to Ralph and later to Paul. Flo listens to radio preachers in the night and tries to comfort Paul with her faith, while later attempts by the Presbyterian minister and his wife to comfort Paul's father, a stalwart of the church, draw only a shocking contempt for a god who could allow such pain. The headlines of approaching war on the papers Paul delivers are echoed later as he trudges the street by the Flying Fortresses from the Army base down the road flying over him. And these signs of war are themselves premonitions of the death and grief to come.
The story takes on even more meaning when set against the other stories in the book. In the first story, "Love Day", Paul is 20 and serving as a platoon leader in the Pacific. As he and his shipmates fret about when they will actually join the assault on Okinawa, Paul recalls an incident from childhood when their Oldsmobile broke down near a peanut field, and his father, although an engineer helping to build warships, is unable to fix it. Paul's remarks on a story in The Saturday Evening Post he's reading about a possible Japanese invasion earn him a tongue-lashing from his mother who loves the Japanese culture and upbraids him for reading trashy, scare-mongering stories. His father, who never raises his voice, a gentle poet somehow caught up in building war machines, snaps and tells her not to be such a fool, asking what she thinks he does all day, what she thinks the Flying Fortresses are that fly overhead every Sunday.
In the second story, "Shadrach", Paul is ten and caught up with a family called the Dabneys, who have come down in the world, the father a bootlegger and the mother "a huge sweaty generous breadloaf of a woman". An only child, he loves their "sheer teeming multitude" of seven children and loud eccentric life. One day, an ancient and emaciated black man turns up, Shadrach, who has walked from Alabama to die on Dabney land, 75 years after Mr. Dabney's great-grandfather sold him. Through dissolute generations since, the once-proud plantation has been reduced to a dilapidated box home made of concrete blocks.The struggling family nevertheless tries to honor the wishes of this all too human (and rank) reminder of their past.
The past and how it informs our present is one of the threads brought out by the proximity of these stories, as is the expectation of war, the small wars with those around us and the mechanized war of nations. But mostly the stories are about what it means to be a man, trying to protect your family and honor your legacy, taking refuge from emotion in gruffness and in words. This last reminds me of Ian McEwan's Solar which was also partially about hiding from emotion in words. McEwan's trademark of having some violent event intrude on normal life and set the story in motion seemed to me contrived after Styron's remarkable stories of the chaos that can upend our small and private lives.