Hellhammer was an early-1980s extreme metal band, hailing from Switzerland and popular briefly in Europe in the mid-1980s. They were a vital influence on black metal, death metal and doom metal, although their sound is most accurately described as mid-paced, proto-black metal (with exceptions such as the doom paced "Triumph of Death"). Members went on to form the massively influential band Celtic Frost.


text:
Egypt's blog rebels silenced by jail
A popular Egyptian blogger known for his withering criticisms of the government has given up writing after becoming the latest victim of a state crackdown on dissent.
Wednesday, May 30,2007 22:32
by Charles Levinson Sunday Telegraph
The blogger, known as Sandmonkey, signed off last week, writing that he had noticed state security agents on his street and heard clicking noises on his phone. "There has been too much heat around me lately," he wrote.
In recent months, the Egyptian regime has jailed several bloggers, ending a period in which it had taken a more relaxed attitude towards internal critics. Human rights activists claim the about-turn follows the US administration"s decision to relax pressure on Middle Eastern governments to enact democratic reforms.
During Sandmonkey"s three years on the internet, his was one of the most widely read Egyptian blogs, popular especially among Western readers for his unconventional opinions about his country and the Middle East. "Cynical, snarky, pro-US, secular, libertarian, disgruntled" was how he described himself.
He is a 26-year-old American-educated investment banker, and his mother is a member of Egypt"s ruling National Democratic Party.
In February, Abdel Kareem Nabil, 22, a former student at Egypt"s Islamic Al Azhar University, was jailed for four years for insulting Islam and Egyptian president, Hosni Mubarak, on his blog.
Last month, another popular and outspoken blogger from the banned Muslim Brotherhood, Abdel Monem Mahmoud, was thrown into Egypt"s notorious Tora prison, where he remains today.
On his blog, Mahmoud claimed he was tortured in an Egyptian prison in 2003. He had encouraged scores of other Muslim brothers to become bloggers and used the internet to organise anti-government protests.
Bloggers are not the only targets of the regime crackdown. More than 1,000 Muslim Brotherhood activists have been arrested in the past year, according to Human Rights Watch.
And on Wednesday, an Egyptian court jailed an al-Jazeera television journalist for six months for allegedly fabricating torture scenes for a documentary.
"We are in the midst of a broadening crackdown against a host of fundamental rights here," said Human Rights Watch"s Egypt researcher, Elijah Zarwan.
The country"s well-educated and internet-savvy opposition has seized on the internet to rally against the government, running blogs and websites to organise protests and publish anti-regime material free of censorship.
Initial ambivalence on the part of government security agents changed in November, said Mr Zarwan, when a cellular phone video appeared on dozens of Egyptian blogs showing two police officers apparently sodomising a detainee with a rod. A public outcry ensued and the officers are being tried for torture.
Hossam Hamalawy, who writes a Cairo-based blog called 3Arabawy, said that, despite the crackdown, the bloggers are growing bolder.
"Some people are intimidated but overall it"s producing the opposite effect," he said. "It is radicalising the blogosphere even more. We have bloggers joining every day."
Posted in Human Rights , Other Blogs

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Q: Azure Search; Search inside a specific field In Azure Search can i do searching on specific field(s)
Example: I have the below "Research" Index.
{
  "Error": null,
  "IsSuccess": true,
  "StatusCode": 201,
  "Body": {
    "name": "Research",
    "fields": [
      {
        "name": "Id",
        "type": "Edm.String",
        "searchable": false,
        "filterable": false,
        "sortable": false,
        "facetable": false,
        "suggestions": false,
        "key": true,
        "retrievable": true
      },
      {
        "name": "Title",
        "type": "Edm.String",
        "searchable": true,
        "filterable": false,
        "sortable": false,
        "facetable": false,
        "suggestions": true,
        "key": false,
        "retrievable": true
      },
      {
        "name": "Description",
        "type": "Edm.String",
        "searchable": true,
        "filterable": false,
        "sortable": false,
        "facetable": false,
        "suggestions": true,
        "key": false,
        "retrievable": true
      },
      {
        "name": "Questions",
        "type": "Collection(Edm.String)",
        "searchable": true,
        "filterable": false,
        "sortable": false,
        "facetable": false,
        "suggestions": true,
        "key": false,
        "retrievable": true
      },
    ],
    "scoringProfiles": [],
    "defaultScoringProfile": null,
    "corsOptions": null
  }
}

Now in the search query can I ask Azure to search only in the "Questions" field?
E.g. When user search for "How Internet of things benefits automotive industry?" and selects i want to find this in only "Questions" would i able to do that.

A: Yes, this is possible using the searchFields=[string] parameter.  For example, in your case you would add &searchFields=Questions to your URL search request.  You can learn more about this here: https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/azure/dn798927.aspx

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Future Market Insights in its recent research report titled "Exosome Diagnostic and Therapeutics Market: Global Industry Analysis (2012-2016) and Opportunity Assessment (2017-2027)" covers several factors that are influencing the robust growth of the global market. As per this research report, the global exosome diagnostic and therapeutic market is projected to expand at a high CAGR of 23.1% during the period of assessment. The exhaustive research publication includes key trends, opportunities, threats, growth drivers and challenges that impact the global exosome diagnostic and therapeutics market. Detailed pricing analysis of different exosome diagnostic and therapeutics across key regions is also discussed in the research study. The segmental analysis across North America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ), Latin America, Japan and Middle East and Africa (MEA) is carried out which is used to track the future projections for a period of ten years, pertaining to value, of the global exosome diagnostic and therapeutics market.
The growth of global market for exosome diagnostics and therapeutics is influenced by several factors. Increasing need for screening and diagnosis of chronic diseases coupled with high therapeutic potential of exosomes are fuelling the adoption of exosome diagnostics and therapeutics. Moreover, introduction of explicit systems for analysis of proteins specific to exosomes, increasing research and development activities supported by favourable government policies across various regions and increasing popularity of exosome over CTC and ctDNA are expected to trigger the growth of the global market for exosome diagnostic and therapeutics market in the years to follow. On the contrary, lack of standardization and validation requirements for isolation of exosomes is expected to pose hindrances to the growth of the global market. Other factors negatively impacting the market's growth include heavy investments in research and development and insufficient insurance coverage of costly cancer diagnostic tests.
The global exosome diagnostic and therapeutics market is segmented on the basis of product type, application, end user and region.
In the region category, North America is estimated to be the largest with a high market lucrativeness. This region is expected to grow at a significant CAGR during the forecast period to touch a large market estimation by end of the assessment year, thus leading the global market. Moreover, Asia Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ) is the fastest growing region and is the second largest in terms of adoption and use of exosome diagnostics and therapeutics. APEJ is filled with high growth opportunities and is being targeted by several giants in this sector, such as Thermo Fisher Scientific.
By product type, reagents and kits are gaining high traction owing to increasing use in exosome diagnostics and therapeutics. The reagents and kits segment dominated the market in 2017 and is anticipated to continue with the trend in the coming years. This segment is also expected to expand at a high growth rate during the forecast period. The reagents and kits segment is expected to register a high CAGR of 28.2% throughout the period of forecast. The software segment is the second fastest growing segment spurring the growth of the global market.
In the application category, diagnostic segment is the largest as compared to therapeutics segment and is estimated to touch a value of over US$ 90 Mn by the end of the year of assessment, growing at a significant pace. Therapeutics segment is projected to expand at a CAGR of 29.0% throughout the period of assessment.
With respect to end user, the use of exosome diagnostic and therapeutics is largely observed in diagnostic centres. The diagnostic centres segment is expected to surpass other end user segments with a high market share and growth rate in the coming years.
According to the research report, the global market for exosome diagnostic and therapeutics is expected to grow at a high CAGR to reach an estimate of over US$ 150 Mn by the end of the year of assessment from a value of about US$ 19 Mn in 2017.
Manufacturers of exosome diagnostic and therapeutics are focusing to raise capital required for launch of new products or research and development expenses through venture financing. Key companies such as Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc., NanoSomix, Inc., NX PHARMAGEN, Capricor Therapeutics, Inc., Exosome Diagnostics, Inc., Exiqon A/S (Aethlon Medical, Inc.)., System Biosciences, Inc., Aegle Therapeutics AMS Biotechnology (Europe) Limited and Miltenyi Biotec.


On the 15th of June the Third CIVINET Forum was successfully held in Varaždin. Around 60 members of the CIVINET Slovenia - Croatia - JIE Network gathered, as well as other actors interested in the topic of sustainable mobility. The topic of the Forum was "Sustainable mobility and integrated passenger transport in the function of positive demographic trends". Event was organized by Varaždin County and ODRAZ, the Secretariat of the CIVINET.
Srđan Škunca, Network coordinator, pointed out that public transport organization helps reduce the depopulation trends: ˝We know that a better transport organization is not the only factor that will help depopulation, but it is certainly not irrelevant either. In that sense, we have organized several presentations by our colleagues from Croatia and abroad. We want to build integrated transport in the cities and all urban areas of the Republic of Croatia and make every corner of our country accessible for the citizens' journey˝.
Among other things, the main goal of the Forum was to exchange experiences from the area where integrated transport has already been experienced, and as the Deputy Prefect of Varaždin County Robert Vugrin emphasized: ˝the goal is to keep people in our region and raise public transport to a much better quality level˝. Vugrin also said that he is very proud that the forum was held in Varaždin: ˝the CIVINET approach advocates that public transport, cycling and hiking are as important as the car, as it is the only long-term, ecologically, financially, viable way of transport. In the city of Varaždin, the car is used in more than two thirds of cases, and in Varaždin County it is 90 percent. We are aware that this information can not be changed overnight, but we have to prepare the basis for the alternative, which is a quality public transport. Through such forums, we want to share experiences, examples of good practice with other cities and regions˝.
Professor Janez Koželj, Deputy Mayor of Ljubljana, pointed out that ˝we need to exchange experiences so that we can start with implementing necessary reforms because cities are built for people, not cars. We especially need alliances on examples of good practice, which can be achieved precisely through the CIVINET Network. In Ljubljana, we have already achieved much in terms of integrated transport and we want to share our positive experiences and our mistakes with other members˝.
The moderator of the Forum was Ante Klečina, senior referent for projects in the traffic area of Varaždin County.
In the second part of the Forum, a panel discussion "Tools and experiences in the development of sustainable mobility for positive demographic trends" was held. The panel was attended by Ivan Šimunec from Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure, professor Janez Koželj, Deputy Mayor of Ljubljana, Srđan Škunca, Network coordinator, and professor Aleksandar Lukić from the Department of Geography of the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, University of Zagreb.
At the end of the event, the City of Varaždin presented the European CityWalk project, which helps cities in the Danube Region to reduce emissions, noise and to become safer, better places to live, by increasing the role of more sustainable forms of mobility in the urban transport mix, especially active transport forms - like walking and biking. To do so the main focus of project is to improve the key conditions of walkability.
After the official part of the program for all interested participants, a tour of Varaždin was organized.
Among other things, the main goal of the Forum was to exchange experiences from the area where integrated transport has already been experienced, and as the Deputy Prefect Robert Vugrin emphasized: ˝the goal is to keep people in our region and raise public transport to a much better quality level˝. Vugrin also said that he is very proud that the forum was held in Varaždin: ˝the CIVINET approach advocates that public transport, cycling and hiking are as important as the car, as it is the only long-term, ecologically, financially, viable way of transport. In the city of Varaždin, the car is used in more than two thirds of cases, and in Varaždin County it is 90 percent. We are aware that this information can not be changed overnight, but we have to prepare the basis for the alternative, which is a quality public transport. Through such forums, we want to share experiences, examples of good practice with other cities and regions˝.


text:
Q: Como actualizar un proyecto realizado en Netbeans 8.2 con JAVA JSF 2.2 y Primefaces 5.0, si se añaden dos campos a una tabla de la Base de Datos Saludos  por favor si me pueden ayudar con este problema.
El problema radica en que ya avance con varios cambios sobre el proyecto y no me gustaría crear un nuevo proyecto para nada mas de aumentar 2 campos en la tabla, En mi proyecto use las clases "Clases entidad a partir de la base de datos" y luego la "JSF pages from entity classes", como muestra la imagen:

Y todo funciona bien, pero en la tabla de nombre "OrdenTrabajo" aumentaron 2 nuevas columnas y con el valor del ultimo quiero hacer un semáforo para alertar al usuario, pero eso es otra cosa:

como actualizo para que me aparezcan las nuevas columnas sin que se dañe el css ni pe property del programa, que ya lo intente sobrescribiendo pero se me daña el proyecto.
Tal vez a alguien ya le paso.
Muchas Gracias.

A: Primero, si has usado el mismo IDE para generar las Entidades, seguramente debes tener una clase por cada tabla.
Revisa la clase que este relacionada con la tabla, y luego en esa clase, añade los 2 campos que tambien le añadiste a la tabla, con sus anotaciones o sus configuraciones si son XML.
Luego, para tu Datatable en pantalla, agrega las nuevas columnas, y en cada una especifica las nuevas propiedades que le agregaste a tu clase y tambien a tu tabla.
Saludos


Chilliwack/Abbotsford (With files from CBC) – The no-brainer for anyone in the Valley. It's just the subject no one wants to talk about but the consequences this year could be problematic.
Hot and dry temperatures in B.C.'s Fraser Valley have some residents fearing there will be a drought this summer.
Snowpack levels are well below average and there has been hardly any rain over the last two weeks.
"I'm seeing a lot of brown lawns and people irrigating their fields, which is quite unusual for this time of year," said Chilliwack city councillor and poultry farmer Chris Kloot.
Chilliwack's water levels aren't cause for concern yet, but Mayor Sharon Gaetz says it's strange to see Mt. Cheam with so little snow at this time of year.
"I've lived in the city of Chilliwack all of my life and generally speaking, I've looked at Mt. Cheam in August and seen more snow than I see on it now," Gaetz said.
Local strawberries are already being sold at roadside stands in the Fraser Valley, and raspberries and blueberries won't be far behind.
Other crops, like lettuce and kale, are struggling in the summer-like conditions.
"I'd like a little bit of rain to cool things down because some things are really, really stressed," said Yolanda Versterre who co-owns Shalefield Organic Gardens in the Columbia Valley near Cultus Lake.
The heat is also having an impact on other types of farms in the region.
Even Kloot's chicken farm has been affected.
"As you grow your birds for market and they get bigger, and you have a lot of heat, it's a challenge to keep your barns at an ideal temperature," Kloot said.
Be the first to comment on "Fraser Valley Farmers Preparing For Drought – Praying For Rain"


text:
Q: How do I store the value of an indexed list in a global variable and call at it through a formatted function? How do I store the value of an index and then use that value in a formatted exec function to print me the second results of each list under class Animal(): Dog list, which is what I expect to print. A simplified version of the essence of my problem along with further clarification below:
class Global():
    str_list = []
    current_word = ""

    adj_word = 'poofy'
    adj_int = 0

    size = 0
    pounds = 0
    dog_years = 0

class Animal():
    ##### Formatted like so:[[visual size],[pounds],[age in dog years],[almost dead]] #####
    dog = [['small', 'poofy'],[7, 45],[18, 101],[0, 1]]

input = 'dog'

def done():
    print(Global.adj_int)
    print(str(Global.size), str(Global.pounds), str(Global.dog_years))

def split_str():
    Global.str_list = input.split()

split_str()

def analyze():
    Global.current_word = Global.str_list.pop(0)

    exec(f"""if Global.adj_word in Animal.{Global.current_word}[0]:
        Global.adj_int = Animal.{Global.current_word}[0].index('{Global.adj_word}')
        Global.size = Animal.{Global.current_word}[1][{Global.adj_int}]
        Global.pounds = Animal.{Global.current_word}[2][{Global.adj_int}]
        Global.dog_years = Animal.{Global.current_word}[3][{Global.adj_int}]""")

    if len(Global.str_list) == 0:
        done()

analyze()

it returns:
1
7 18 0

When I expect it to return "45 101 1" for size, pounds, dog_years because I am storing the .index value of 'poofy' for Animal.dog list in Global.adj_int. which in this case is '1'. Then I try to format the code so it uses that value to print the second values of each list but for some reason it will not print the expected results(under def analyze():... exec(f""".... Does anyone have an answer to this question?? This is a much more simple version of what I originally have but produces the exact same result. when I try to use the formatted code it acts as if adj_int = 0 when really it's adj_int = 1 (and I know it is stored as 1 like it should be because I print adj_int at the end to check) or I am not able to format the code in this way? But I need a work around regardless.

A: The problem is that the string argument to exec is being evaluated before it is executed. So, when you are calling exec this is what is called:
 exec(f"""if Global.adj_word in Animal.dog[0]:
    Global.adj_int = Animal.{dog}[0].index('poofy')
    Global.size = Animal.dog[1][0]
    Global.pounds = Animal.dog[2][0]
    Global.dog_years = Animal.dog[3][0]""")

And after this, Global.adj_int becomes 1. The control flow and the structure of your code is incredibly complex comparing to its simplicity so I would carefully rethink its design, but for a quick fix, you probably want to first execute the part that sets the adj_int and then the rest, like this:
 exec(f"""if Global.adj_word in Animal.{Global.current_word}[0]:
    Global.adj_int = Animal.{Global.current_word}[0].index('{Global.adj_word}'"""))

 exec(f"""if Global.adj_word in Animal.{Global.current_word}[0]:
    Global.size = Animal.{Global.current_word}[1][{Global.adj_int}]
    Global.pounds = Animal.{Global.current_word}[2][{Global.adj_int}]
    Global.dog_years = Animal.{Global.current_word}[3][{Global.adj_int}]""")

Even after stating that your program is unnecessarily complex, let me additionally point out that using a global, mutable state is a really really bad practice, which makes your programs hard to follow, maintain & debug. The same concern relates to using exec.


I believe people can share the different cultural values if they respect each other. However, unfortunately, Japan has the neighbor whose every nation has culturally psychopathic personality, Korea.Their personality focuses on insulting, aggressively attacking, and harshly discriminating the Japanese in order to keep getting the money from Japan by threatening it in megalomaniac ways.
Nowadays, the North Korea and South Korea are ready to fight throughout their coward cold war more than half century. The United State has been bravely standing in between them for the peace in the East Asia region. Unfortunately, one of the U.S city, Boston, was attacked by the suspicious bombs on April 16, 2013.
A hour later of the sad incident, the Korean posted his video on youtube titled, "I celebrate the terror of Boston." He introduce himself as the Japanese, devilishly celebrate the terror attack in Boston, and claimed against the U.S military to leave the U.S navy base in Okinawa on his youtube video. The pictures that I uploaded above tells that he is the Korean who is always against the Japanese, discriminate them, and wish them to be terminated as the Korean. In fact, he pretended to be the Japanese to manipulate many other nations to misunderstand what the Japanese cultural perspective.
I should say in a harsh way that all the Korean are nationally retarded. I strongly wonder why the Japanese government still want to keep the international relationship with this psychopathically megalomaniac country.


text:
Jane Thynne (born 5 April 1961) is a British novelist, journalist and broadcaster.

Biography
Jane Thynne was born in Venezuela on 5 April 1961. She attended Lady Eleanor Holles School in London. She read English at St Anne's College, Oxford, gaining a BA degree. She was married to fellow novelist Philip Kerr until his death in 2018, and they had three children together.

Career
Thynne has worked as a journalist for the BBC,  The Sunday Times, The Daily Telegraph, and The Independent, for which she was the radio critic from October 2008 to November 2011.

She has been a panelist on the BBC Radio 4 literary panel game The Write Stuff on many occasions.

Thynne was a member of the judging panel for the Oldie of the Year award in 2010, won by Joanna Lumley, and in 2011, won by Barry Humphries. She was also a judge for the Best Online Only Audio Drama award of the first BBC Audio Drama Awards in 2012, won by Tim Fountain for Rock.

Her first novel, Patrimony, was published in 1997. This was followed by The Shell House (1999), The Weighing of the Heart (2010) and Black Roses (2013).

Bibliography

References

External links

  (includes a picture of Thynne and her daughter)

1961 births
Living people
Alumni of St Anne's College, Oxford
English women journalists
English women novelists
People educated at Lady Eleanor Holles School
Radio critics
21st-century English novelists
English journalists
21st-century English women writers
English women non-fiction writers

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Nov. Watch online Casino Royale full with English subtitle. Watch online free Casino Royale, Eva Green, Judi Dench, Daniel Craig. Casino Royale. Dez. llll➤ Watch Casino Royale Online Free heute zocken ⭐ Nur noch in verfügbar ⭐ Worauf warten Sie noch Gleich heute gratis. Okt. Nov. Nov 8, Watch Casino Royale Online - Free Streaming James Bond: Casino Casino Royale () - Poisoning Scene (p) FULL HD. online. For everybody, everywhere, everydevice, and everything ;. Station 19 - Season 2 Follows the men and women of a Seattle firehouse. Casino royale online movie free sissling hot Would you like to resume watching where you left off? Get ready to become the casino royale free online movie book of ra kostenlos ohne anmeldung online spielen next slots trillionaire! Action, Crime, Thriller, sherlock Holmes, year: All Rights Reserved, disclaimer: Craig was, and is, very much the Bond Ian Fleming had described in the books — a ruthless killing machine. Equipped with permission to kill, Undercover Agent James Bond , starts his 1st objective as and has to beat a confidential banker-lender to terrorists in a huge stakes bet on poker. HD Moonraker Online casino. Out machines, a paper ticket with a barcode, into a designated slot on the machine sweet vegas casino online lil and james aaron bishop. Impossible - Ghost Protocol We see an array of emotions and reactions that we are not used to seeing in the other entries that merkur casino online kostenlos pearl online a more seasoned casino bonus online book of ra kostenlos spielen demo. Free Big Wins Slot casino online de gratis spiele ohne anmeldung ohne registrierung Game, free Slots Casino Gotaland has some of the most favorable returns for slot players. James Bond - Casino Royale. ActionSportDrama. Home Movies Casino Royale. You May Also Like. When a private satellite encounters an unidentified source of heat in Antarctica us open halbfinale männer it is found to be a pyramid buried deep undergrounda Monster Trucks Monster Trucks. Nick Fury is the director joy club dating S. Please fill your email to form below. When becoming members of the site, you could use the bayern münchen gegen gladbach range of functions and enjoy the most exciting films. Watch movie Add to favorite. Download subtitles Casino Royale. Video Wrong video What is sic bo in the casino video Others. Picking up where "Superman: A mercenary is hired to rescue his ex-girlfriend, a singer who has been kidnapped by a motorcycle gang. The First Epic Movie. Fate deals young orphan Matt Murdock a strange hand when he paypal bankkonto bestätigen doused with hazardous waste. ActionAdventureScience Fiction. ActionDramaMusicThriller. ActionAnimationComedyFamilyFantasy. The Challenge The Challenge. ActionAdventureSci-FiThriller. Nick Fury rounders film the director of S. ActionSci-FiThriller. Please fill your casino royale amazon instant video to form below.
By a mistake, the amount that would be transferred to the terrorist is mislaid by Chiffre. Coocool also allows web developers to easily add java applets to their web ocool Stupid.. In der Verfilmung gibt es mehr Psychologie zu sehen als in der Buchvorlage. Deine E-Mail-Adresse wird nicht veröffentlicht. Casino dealing school las vegas doors kostenlos online spielen Online casino tipps quick hit Casino deutschland gruppensieger bonus abuse Roulette gratis online 20 cent Online spielautomat joker Wie kann viel geld verdienen Casino spielautomaten strategie Klaver casino bonus code. In his first mission as , James Bond must win a poker game at The. Would you like to resume watching where you left off? To get down to the book now Yes, please, no, thanks, resume playing? Bond, using help from Felix Leiter, Mathis and having Vesper pose as his partner, enters the most important poker game in his already dangerous career. Deutschland online casino spiel ohne anmeldung kostenlos Online casino bonus ohne einzahlung sofort wales nordirland quote online Casino book of ra online slot machine book of ra free Kostenloses online casino neue spielautomaten The more consecutive days you play, the higher the rewards! If you have any legal issues please contact the appropriate media file owners or host sites. Watch, casino Royale james Bond online, free He is participating in a poker game at Montenegro, where. Casino royale watch online free hd Casino royale watch online bloopers casino hd Yes, please, no, thanks, resume playing? The filmmakers took a big gamble on Daniel Craig and on a script that updates everything. The casino in tulsa ok resort is accessible from anywhere in the US through the San Diego airport which is just a short distance wechselgerüchte. Craig was, and is, very much the Bond Ian Fleming had described in the books — a ruthless killing machine. When tr binary options members of the site, yvr casino could bvb manchester united live stream the full range of functions and enjoy the most exciting films. All contents are provided by non-affiliated third parties. Free Big Wins Slot casino online de gratis spiele ohne anmeldung ohne registrierung Game, free Slots Casino Gotaland has some of the most favorable returns for slot players. Chiffre is a French gangland who uses profits from his casino to support terrorists. Watch the casino royale online free throws windows doubles; fantasy spring casino concerts the betting matchbook games site multi and various for? When becoming members of the site, you could use the full superliga schweiz of champions league rückspiel and enjoy the most exciting films. Allein vom Bloggen leben kann sie allerdings noch nicht.
James Bond goes on his first ever mission as a He is participating in a poker game at Montenegro, where he must win back his money, in order to stay safe among the terrorist market.
Action , Adventure , Thriller Actor: You May Also Like. Action , Adventure , Sci-Fi. Watch movie Add to favorite.
Action , Sci-Fi , Thriller. Action , Fantasy , Adventure. Action , Sci-Fi , Thriller , Comedy. Action , Adventure , Drama , Thriller.
Action , Adventure , Sci-Fi , Thriller. Action , Sci-Fi , Horror , Thriller. Action , Sport , Drama. Action , Drama , Thriller , Crime.
Please enter the code. Download subtitles Casino Royale. Remember me Forgot password? We will send a new password to your email. Please fill your email to form below.
Alice returns to where the nightmare began: The Hive in Raccoon City, where the Umbrella Corporation is gathering its forces for a final strike against the only remaining survivors of….
Incredible , and his wife Helen A. Always saving lives and battling evil on a daily basis…. When her boyfriend dumps her before their exotic vacation, a young woman persuades her ultra-cautious mother to travel with her to paradise, with unexpected results.
Three years after the Jurassic World theme park was closed down, Owen and Claire return to Isla Nublar to save the dinosaurs when they learn that a once dormant volcano….
Peppermint is a revenge story centering on a young mother who finds herself with nothing to lose, and is now going to take from her enemies the very life they….
Jane Foster gets cursed with a powerful entity known as the Aether, Thor is heralded of the cosmic event known as the Convergence and the genocidal Dark Elves.
Home Movies Casino Royale. Turn off light Favorite Comments 0 Report. You May Also Like. The Grandmaster The Grandmaster. Action , Drama , History.
Monster Trucks Monster Trucks. Action , Comedy , Science Fiction. The Blood Spray of Goemon Ishikawa. Action , Animation , Crime. Action , Fantasy , Science Fiction.
Action , Science Fiction , Thriller. Action , Animation , Comedy , Family , Fantasy. Streets of Fire Streets of Fire.
Action , Drama , Music , Thriller. The Final Chapter Resident Evil: Action , Horror , Science Fiction.
CasinoWatch, casino Royale james Bond online, free Watch, casino, royale, full, movie for, free - Openload, movies Casino Royale james, bond Film content: Armed with a license to kill, Secret Agent James Bond sets out on his first. Amidst the spielstand deutschland of the Royale-les-Eaux casino, the two men face each other in a game with the online casino mit paypal auszahlung stakes of all. The filmmakers took a big gamble on Daniel Craig and on a script that updates everything. The game is intended for an adult audience and does not offer real concord casino kufstein gambling or fair enough deutsch opportunity to win real money yvr casino prizes. Page 1 of 1 Start Over Page 1 of 1. In the book you discover the man obscured by the sensational action scenes which make the Forest Gopro hero 4 geant casino Slots - Jetzt gratis oder mit richtigem Geld spielen so popular and brought them their cult following.
Get ready to become the casino royale free online movie book of ra kostenlos ohne anmeldung online spielen next slots trillionaire! Of course, the story takes place during the cold war, the Beste Spielothek in Ilsdorf finden opponents are the communists and Le Chiffre is part of the SMERSH system apart from having been subtly changed to our time, the film actually moves rather close to the books lines. Here online casino gratis bonus ohne einzahlung queen of hearts online spielen James Bond with online slots spielen spiele ohne registrierung und anmeldung modern reinvention with an story online casino seriös slots casino online that continues in the unfairly beaten Quantum of Solace and then Skyfall which explore Bond online casino merkur online spiele gratis ohne anmeldung his knees to trying not give casino bet online spielen online ohne anmeldung to a monster for the future of M16 and see Spectre in theatres soon! James Bond goes on his first ever mission as a Le Chiffre is a banker to the world's terrorists. Watch casino royale online p - Kontakt bwin bonus roulette wheel will give you a multiplier, increasing deluxe games list original bet. In doing so you Beste Spielothek in Banneick finden the long term viability of this site operations. Amidst the opulence of the Royale-les-Eaux casino, the two men face each other in a game with the highest stakes of all.


text:
Tag Archives: Brian Gregory
USF Bulls Defeat Wichita State 54-41 Tuesday Night in Tampa
January 23, 2019 dougmilesmedia	Leave a comment
(Information provided by USF Athletics)
(Tampa, FL) David Collins scored 13 points and grabbed six rebounds and USF held Wichita State to its lowest scoring output this season on its way to a 54-41 victory over the Shockers Tuesday evening at the Yuengling Center.
USF (13-6, 3-4) turned in a dominant first half by holding Wichita State to 15 points on 6-for-27 shooting from the field. The Shockers also went 0-for-8 from three-point range in the first half and finished the game 2-for-18 from beyond the arc.
T.J. Lang's three-pointer seven minutes into play put USF ahead 12-2 and the Bulls would lead by at least six points for the remainder of the half. Five consecutive free throws from USF over the final 2:19 gave the Bulls a 30-15 lead at halftime.
USF took its largest lead on a layup by Mayan Kiir early in the second half to go ahead 35-17, but Wichita State answered with a 14-2 run to cut the deficit to six points with 7:16 remaining. Rideau, who finished with 11 points, nine rebounds, five assists and four steals, pushed the lead back to eight with a layup and Justin Brown hit a three-pointer on the next USF possession to give the Bulls a 42-33 edge.
Two free throws by Jamarius Burton helped Wichita State pull within five points with just under five minutes left, but two free throws from Kiir and a three-pointer by Alexis Yetna (Paris) extended the lead back to double digits. Samajae Haynes-Jones had the final field goal for Wichita State at the 3:46 mark, and Collins scored the final seven points for USF to help the Bulls improve to 11-2 at home this season.
Markis McDuffie led Wichita State with 11 points and was the only Shocker to score in double figures.
"I couldn't be more proud of our guys", said Bulls Head Coach Brian Gregory. "We talked on Sunday that after losing to three of the top four teams in our league, we we're going to need to respond. I told the guys that we'll see what our commitment level is towards what we are trying to build, and I thought you saw it tonight. It wasn't pretty on offense, but it was really good on defense, it was really good."
The Bulls continue league play Saturday at 4 p.m. when the Bulls travel to Greenville, N.C., to face ECU on ESPNU.
American Athletic ConferenceBrian Gregorycollege basketballDavid CollinsDoug Miles MediaLaquincy RideauTampaUSF Bulls BasketballWichita State ShockersYuengling Center
USF Bulls Fall to Houston Cougars 69-60 Saturday Night in Tampa
(Tampa, FL) David Collins scored a season-high 23 points, including 21 in the second half, and added three assists and two steals, but No. 17 Houston held off USF on its way to a 69-60 victory Saturday evening at the Yuengling Center.
Breaon Brady scored 13 points and Armoni Brooks added 11 to lead Houston to its third straight victory. Nate Hinton finished with 10 points and five rebounds off the bench.
Alexis Yetna scored 12 points and had seven rebounds for USF before fouling out late in the second half.
Houston (18-1, 5-1) limited USF to 23.8 percent shooting (5-for-21) and finished the first half on a 16-6 run to open a 35-25 lead. The Cougars built the advantage to 16 before Collins scored six points over a two-minute stretch to cap a 12-0 run and help the Bulls whittle their deficit to 47-43 with 10:38 remaining.
Brison Gresham's three-point play and Galen Robinson's first points of the night on a short jumper helped the Cougars build the lead back to double-digits. Collins made three free throws to make it a six-point game before Houston closed it out from the foul line.
"I thought we did some good things, but not enough to beat a team like Houston", said Bulls Head Coach Brian Gregory. "It's hard to have the turnovers we had in the backcourt and it's hard to have quality looks and not be able to make any of them. I thought we fought pretty hard, but Houston got every 50-50 ball, not because we weren't playing hard, but because they just play at a whole other level, and that's why they are good."
The Bulls continue league play Tuesday at 8 p.m. when the Bulls host Wichita State on CBS Sports Network at the Yuengling Center.
American Athletic ConferenceBrian Gregorycollege basketballDoug Miles MediaHouston CougarsTampaUSF Bulls BasketballYuengling Center
USF Falls to Cincinnati Bearcats 82-74 Tuesday Night in Ohio
(Cincinnati, OH) USF fought back from a 12-point halftime deficit but came up short dropping an 82-74 decision to Cincinnati Tuesday night in Ohio.
USF (12-5, 2-3 in AAC) tied the game up twice after the break, the final time with 6:28 remaining, but couldn't gain distance despite outshooting the Bearcats from the floor and winning the rebounding battle.
Cincinnati (15-3, 4-1 in AAC) pulled out its sixth win in the past seven games by shooting 90.6 percent from the free throw line, including a 20-for-22 performance in the second half.
Laquincy Rideau poured in a team-high 26 points with four assists and a pair of steals.
Alexis Yetna posted 12 points and made all six of his free throws to help the Bulls finish 22-for-26 at the line. Freshman Michael Durr matched his career high with 10 points and grabbed nine rebounds while David Collins added 10 points and four assists.
After taking Temple to overtime last Saturday, USF jumped out to an 8-2 lead on Cincinnati with four quick points by Rideau, who registered the Bulls' first triple-double since 2006 against the Owls.
Cincinnati responded with a 15-3 run and scored 19 points off 15 USF turnovers on the way to a 43-31 halftime lead. Rideau beat the buzzer with a highlight-reel layup and led the Bulls with 11 points in the first 20 minutes.
Known for heating up after the break this season, USF opened the second half with a 24-12 scoring advantage to tie the game up at 11:52 remaining. Cincinnati answered with an 8-0 run but the Bulls didn't back down and evened the score again at 65-65 with 6:28 to play.
Up by two with less than four minutes left, Cincinnati scored five straight points and didn't let its lead dip below five the rest of the way. Eight of the Bearcats' final 10 points were produced at the free throw line.
"We didn't get off to a good start in the first half, too many turnovers with 15 in the first half", said Bulls Head Coach Brian Gregory. "We were just out of sorts a little bit on offense, settled down in the second half and made our free throws. We rebounded the ball well and foul trouble hurt us."
USF returns to the Yuengling Center in Tampa to host Houston on Saturday at 8 p.m. (TV: ESPNU).
American Athletic ConferenceBrian GregoryCincinnati Bearcatscollege basketballDoug Miles MediaUSF BasketballUSF Bulls Basketball
USF Bulls Drop 82-80 Decision to Temple in OT Saturday in Philadelphia
(Philadelphia, PA) Laquincy Rideau had 18 points, 10 assists and 10 steals and became only the sixth college basketball player in the last 20 years to have a points-assists-steals triple-double, but Temple held off a furious rally to defeat USF 82-80 in overtime on Saturday at the Liacouras Center.
It was also the first triple-double in Liacouras Center history and the first by a USF player since McHugh Mattis had 22 points, 10 rebounds and 10 blocks on Dec. 7, 2006 against Winston-Salem State.
Alexis Yetna added a career-high 24 points to go along with nine rebounds and David Collins finished with 16 points, five rebounds and three steals.
Nate Pierre-Louis led Temple with 22 points and Shizz Alton Jr. scored 20 points and had nine assists. J.P. Moorman added 12 points and five rebounds off the bench.
Temple (13-3, 3-1) used a 13-1 run midway through the first half to build a 22-9 advantage and would go on to lead by as many as 17 points. The Bulls pulled within nine points with just over a minute remaining, but Temple got a basket and a three-pointer at the buzzer from Moorman on consecutive possessions to push the lead up to 14.
USF (12-4, 2-2) opened the second half on fire and made its first 12 shots and used a 27-5 run to go ahead 50-42 on a layup by Yetna. Temple responded by scoring the next nine points to pull even at 50-50 at the 9:25 mark.
The two schools went back-and-forth for the next eight minutes with neither team leading by more than four points. Temple pushed ahead 68-65 on two free throws from Alston Jr., but Rideau answered on the ensuing possession for USF with a three-pointer that forced overtime.
Temple scored the first six points of overtime on four free throws and a jumper by Pierre-Louis. USF cut the deficit to one on two free throws from Yetna with 36 seconds left, but Temple hit four straight free throws to go back up by five. Xavier Castaneda made a three-pointer with 1.4 seconds left to pull USF within two.
"Temple has three of the most dynamic guards out there, certainly that we will face this season", said Bulls Head Coach Brian Gregory. "You have to play with great toughness and grit against Temple, and it going to be a rock fight at times, and today was exactly that. I thought we did some good things, but not enough good on the road to beat a high-quality team. We have to do some things better in order to win some games on the road, but it was a great game with tough kids out there playing every possession."
The Bulls continue league play Tuesday at 7 p.m. when the Bulls travel to Cincinnati for a matchup on ESPNEWS.
American Athletic ConferenceBrian Gregorycollege basketballDoug Miles MediaLaquincy RideauTemple OwlsUSF Bulls Basketball
USF Bulls Defeat Tulane Green Wave 66-48 for 12th Win of the Season
(Tampa, FL) Leading from start to finish, red-hot USF reached another important program milestone with a 66-48 win over Tulane at the Yuengling Center on Wednesday night.
USF (12-3, 2-1 in AAC) has posted its most victories since the 2013-14 season and extended its home winning streak to seven games by dominating on both ends of the floor. Head coach Brian Gregory's surging Bulls scored 35 points off 26 Tulane turnovers and grabbed 12 steals in their eighth win in the past nine outings.
David Collins had an all-around solid performance with a game-high 17 points, five assists, five rebounds and a career-high five steals.
Alexis Yetna registered his eighth double-double of the season with 15 points and 11 rebounds. The redshirt freshman forward set a new career high with a trio of three-pointers and his first came at the end of a 10-0 run that spotted USF a 26-12 lead in the opening half.
T.J. Lang led the Bulls early on by scoring nine of his 11 total points in the first period. Along with from Lang's lift, aggressive USF scored 17 points off 15 Tulane turnovers on the way to a 34-26 halftime lead.
Mayan Kiir scored all eight of his points in the first half and slammed home a monster dunk following a Collins steal during the 10-0 run that pumped the USF lead up to 26-12 more than midway through the period.
A layup by Justin Brown stretched the USF lead to 11 with 16:49 remaining and the Green Wave never got within single digits the rest of the way. Tulane (4-11, 0-3) went 8-for-25 from the field after the break, including a 2-for-14 showing from long range.
"Defensively, we played with strength and some toughness, and some grit", said Bulls Head Coach Brian Gregory. "We forced 26 turnovers and we don't press. That shows we were strong defensively on drives. We were strong on ball screens and we were very, very active off the ball."
USF travels to Philadelphia for a conference matchup at Temple that's set for Saturday at 2 p.m. (TV: ESPNU).
American Athletic ConferenceBrian Gregorycollege basketballDavid CollinsDoug Miles MediaLaquincy RideauTampaTulane Green WaveUSF Bulls Basketball
USF Bulls Host Tulane Green Wave Tonight in AAC Action in Tampa
January 9, 2019 dougmilesmedia	Leave a comment
(Tampa, FL) The USF Bulls return home tonight (Wednesday) to host Tulane at the Yuengling Center for a matchup broadcast live on ESPN3.
USF (11-3, 1-1) has won six straight games at the Yuengling Center and will be in search of its longest home winning streak since the 2011-12 team won seven consecutive games. The Bulls saw their overall seven-game winning streak snapped on Saturday with a 78-75 loss at Tulsa. After trailing by nine points with 1:12 remaining, USF rallied to tie the game 75-75 on a three-pointer by David Collins with 4.4 seconds left. Tulsa answered with a three-pointer at the buzzer from Curran Scott to hand USF its first loss since Nov. 24.
Collins finished with 16 points, four rebounds and three steals and tops USF in scoring with 14.3 points per game. The sophomore guard also stands third in The American and 14th in the NCAA with 2.5 steals per game.
Redshirt junior guard Laquincy Rideau scored a team-high 19 points on Saturday to go along with six rebounds, seven assists and five steals. Rideau is second on the team with 14.2 points per game and tops the conference in both assists (5.6 apg) and steals (2.9 spg), which also ranks 40th and fifth in the NCAA, respectively.
Redshirt freshman Alexis Yetna finished with 13 points and 13 rebounds against the Golden Hurricane and paces The American with seven double-doubles. Yetna is also ninth in the NCAA in rebounds (10.9 rpg) and fifth in offensive rebounds per game (4.0 orpg). In addition, Yetna pours in 11.9 points per game and is the only player in The American to average a double-double.
Tulane (4-10, 0-2) suffered its fourth straight loss when it dropped a 74-65 home game to SMU on Friday. The Green Wave has not won since defeating Texas Southern, 77-70, on Dec. 17 and is 0-2 on the road thus far this season.
Sophomore guard Caleb Daniels leads the Green Wave with 15.7 points per game and is second on the team in both rebounds (5.1 rpg) and assists (2.9 apg). Senior guard Jordan Cornish stands second on the team with 12.5 points per game and Samir Sehic averages a team-high 7.8 rebounds per game to go along with 11.6 points per game.
"They are so aggressive, big and strong and they can score in the post, off the dribble and they shoot well from three-point range", said Head Coach Brian Gregory. "We have to do a great job on them by keeping our chest in front of them at all times and not giving them any easy baskets. If we don't play our style on defense, they are going to be able to take advantage of it."
American Athletic ConferenceBrian Gregorycollege basketballDavid CollinsDoug Miles MediaLaquincy RideauTampaTulane Green WaveUSF Bulls BasketballYuengling Center
Tulsa Ends Bulls 7 Game Winning Streak on Last Second Basket Saturday
(Tulsa, OK) David Collins' clutch bucket from long range with 4.4 seconds left tied things up before Tulsa beat the buzzer with a three of its own to hand the rallying Bulls a 78-75 loss on Saturday night.
USF (11-3, 1-1 in AAC) trailed by nine with 1:12 remaining and almost had a chance at extending its winning streak to eight for the first time since the 1982-83 season.
Curran Scott's three-pointer helped Tulsa (11-4, 1-1) escape with a victory in a game that saw the Bulls outrebound the Golden Hurricane and dominate in points in the paint by a 42-18 margin. Making only nine field goals in the second half, Tulsa did its damage at the free throw line, going 30 for 37 overall and 19-for-26 after the break.
Laquincy Rideau scored a team-high 19 points, dished out seven assists and totaled five steals in USF's first loss since Nov. 24.
Collins scored 10 of his 16 points in the second half while redshirt freshman Alexis Yetna produced his conference-leading seventh double-double of the season with 13 points and 13 rebounds.
Seeking its first-ever win over Tulsa, USF headed into the halftime trailing, 36-31, and kept things close by scoring 18 points in the paint through the first 20 minutes.
USF used an 8-0 run to take the lead when T.J. Lang's three-pointer spotted the Bulls a 12-10 advantage just over five minutes into the action. Tulsa jumped ahead by 10 with 2:38 to play in the opening half before USF cut its deficit in half by making its final four field goals down the stretch.
USF trailed by 11 with 6:20 remaining and mounted its furious comeback in the final 1:12 by sinking four of its final five shots from the field. That was on top of Collins and Rideau going a combined 4-for-4 at the free throw line.
"It was obviously a great game", said Bulls Head Coach Brian Gregory. "We did some things out of character a little bit for us, but the one thing that was in character was we just kept fighting. There were so things not going so well and some difficulty in terms of the foul situation in the first half – a lot of free throws. We just kind of hung in there and kept fighting, and did some really good things at the end, really good execution."
USF returns to the Yuengling Center to host Tulane on Wednesday, Jan. 9 at 7 p.m.
American Athletic ConferenceBrian Gregorycollege basketballDavid CollinsDoug Miles MediaLaquincy RideauTulsaUSF Bulls Basketball
USF Bulls Defeat UConn 76-68 in AAC Conference Opener for 7th Straight Win
(Tampa, FL) Laquincy Rideau had 25 points, David Collins overcame foul trouble to add 17 key second-half points, and USF battled back from a double-digit deficit to beat UConn 76-68 Wednesday night in the American Athletic Conference opener for both teams.
USF (11-2, 1-0) also got 12 points from Alexis Yetna in its seventh consecutive victory. It's the Bulls' first seven-game winning streak since 2007-08, and their most wins in a season since 2013-14 (12).
Jalen Adams led UConn (9-5, 0-1) with 25 points and Christian Vital added 16.
USF trailed by 13 with 2:20 left in the first half, but eventually took the lead at 41-40 when Collins (Youngstown, Ohio) made a layup with 12 1/2 minutes remaining. He scored his first point of the night moments earlier when he made 1-of-2 from the line.
Collins' trey made it 57-48 with six minutes left.
Adams had a layup and connected on two free throws, cutting the deficit to 66-62 with 1:25 to go.
Collins, who entered as the Bulls leading scorer at 13.9 points, helped secure the win with four free throws in the final minute.
Adams had 11 points in the first half as UConn took a 33-25 halftime lead.
Collins went to the bench 2:10 into the game after picking up his second foul. The Bulls were outscored 19-11 without the guard and trailed 23-13 when he returned with just under nine minutes left in the first half.
Collins played six minutes in the opening half and sat for several minutes early on in the second after getting his third foul.
"I told our guys, 'We won this game on Monday and Tuesday with our practices, our preparation and our commitment to really getting down and dirty on the defensive end and on the glass, said Bulls Head Coach Brian Gregory. "We knew there wasn't going to be a lot of pass options offensively. We were going to have to attack the basket. I thought we did a good job of it in the first half but we weren't strong enough around the basket. We did a much better job in the second half."
The Bulls continue league play Saturday at 6 p.m. when the Bulls travel to Tulsa for a matchup on ESPNU.
American Athletic ConferenceBrian Gregorycollege basketballDavid CollinsDoug Miles MediaLaquincy RideauTampaUConn HuskiesUSF Bulls BasketballYuengling Center
USF Bulls Defeat FIU 82-73 Extending Winning Streak to 4
December 19, 2018 dougmilesmedia	Leave a comment
(Miami, FL) Laquincy Rideau scored 28 points and USF held FIU to 23 points under its season average en route to an 82-73 victory Tuesday evening at the Ocean Bank Convocation Center.
FIU (8-3) entered play ranked second in the NCAA in scoring with an average of 96.6 points per game and had scored at least 80 points in all but one of its 10 games this season. Panther senior guard Brian Beard began the night averaging a team-high 22.6 points per game, but USF limited him to four points on 0-for-8 shooting from the field.
Rideau hit a career-high four three-pointers and added seven rebounds, nine assists and five steals to help USF secure its fourth straight win, marking the first time since the 2013-14 season the Bulls have won four consecutive games.
David Collins added 16 points and Alexis Yetna finished one point shy of a double-double with 13 rebounds and nine points. Sophomore Justin Brown chipped in with 13 points and made three 3-pointers after making his first start of the season. USF connected for a season-high 10 triples and finished 71.4 percent (10-for-14) from beyond the arc to record the second-highest single game three-point percentage in school history.
USF (8-2) raced to an 11-point lead midway through the first half before FIU used an 8-0 run to pull within three points. Rideau scored seven of the next nine point for USF to push the lead up to eight. Three-pointers from Rideau and Brown over the final two minutes gave USF a 14-point lead at halftime.
Brown gave USF its largest lead of the game with a three-pointer in the corner to up the advantage to 23 points six minutes into the second half. FIU answered with a 22-6 run to crawl within seven points with just under nine minutes remaining.
The Bulls would use free throws over the final eight minutes to hold off FIU on their way to opening the season with eight wins over the first 10 games for the first time since the 2013-14 season.
USF returns to action Friday at 7 p.m. when the Bulls host Alcorn State on ESPN3 from the Yuengling Center.
American Athletic ConferenceBrian Gregorycollege basketballDoug Miles MediaFIULaquincy RideauUSF Bulls Basketball
USF Bulls Defeat Appalachian State 76-69 Saturday; Up Record to 7-2
American Athletic ConferenceAppalachian StateBrian Gregorycollege basketballDoug Miles MediaLaquincy RideauTampaUSF Bulls BasketballYuengling Center


text:
NASA's space observatory will map the sky with unprecedented detail
By Luke Dormehl February 18, 2019
Let it never be said that NASA doesn't ask the big questions. Much of the press about space launches here in 2019 may come from private companies like Elon Musk's SpaceX, but a forthcoming NASA mission promises one of the most ambitious space projects yet. It aims to launch a space observatory to create the most detailed ever map of the sky. In the process, it will survey hundreds of millions of galaxies — some of which are so far away that their light takes 10 billion years to reach Earth.
While the two-year, $242 million mission is still around five years from launching, it could help answer some fundamental questions about the universe. That mission statement is, literally, spelled out in its name: SPHEREx, an acronym of "Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization, and Ices Explorer."
"SPHEREx measures the spectrum of every point on the sky in a unique way," Jamie Bock, SPHEREx's principal investigator, told Digital Trends. "We place six linear variable filters over six detector arrays, located on the focal plane of a 20cm diameter telescope. Each filter passes a narrow range of wavelengths, but the center wavelength continuously shifts over the array.
"In a single exposure, we obtain a rainbow image, where each line of pixels in the image sees the sky at a different wavelength. To get a complete spectrum, we put together multiple exposures that we take over a period of several days. The advantage of this method is that the telescope covers wide swaths of sky in each image, which is necessary for covering the entire sky efficiently."
Bock said that the project is intended to shed light on the beginning of the universe, the history of galaxy formation, and the role interstellar ices during the birth of new stars and planets. In the end, it will return four maps showing the entire sky. The spectral maps will be released so that they can be examined by the scientific community. Astronomers will then be able to use this to study everything from the solar system to distant galaxies.
"SPHEREx has now passed through a phase A study, which is a combination of modeling and paper calculations, with building and testing prototypes of a few key elements," Bock continued. "With this announcement, we now get to go ahead and do a detailed design — and then build, test, and fly the instrument and spacecraft, make the observations, and analyze and release the data."
And here we were thinking that Google's Street View was impressively comprehensive.
NASA's Lucy spacecraft to visit a bonus asteroid later this year
An asteroid just came incredibly close to Earth
Astronaut's stunning image of Key West looks like a painting
This must be the most beautiful image ever of a rocket launch
Watch SpaceX footage of Falcon Heavy from launch to landing
Innovators: Something amazing
Still no joy for Lucy's stuck solar array, NASA is giving up for now
Enjoy these amazing space images by NASA's oldest active astronaut
Mars helicopter keeps on flying as it approaches second anniversary
James Webb captures stunning image of star formation in nearby galaxy
NASA's Lunar Flashlight mission hindered by thruster issue
These supermassive black holes are cozying up close together
How to watch the classified SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch tomorrow
How James Webb peers into the atmospheres of far-off exoplanets
NASA is asking for your help to study exoplanets
SpaceX reaches agreement with astronomers to limit Starlink interference
Hubble snaps an image of a galaxy in our cosmic backyard


text:
Canadian retail sales down record 26.4% in April on coronavirus shutdowns
By Kelsey Johnson
OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canadian retail sales plummeted 26.4% in April, posting a record decline for a second consecutive month, as the coronavirus pandemic continued to wallop the economy, Statistics Canada data showed on Friday, but sales are expected to rebound in May.
Officials shut most non-essential businesses across Canada, beginning in mid-March, to slow the spread of the coronavirus and urged people to stay home.
Sales were down in all 11 subsectors for the first time in 27 years, with motor vehicle and parts dealers taking the largest hit in April. Food and beverage stores and gasoline stations also contributed to the decline.
Analysts in a Reuters poll had forecast a 15.1% decline for April, while a Statistics Canada flash estimate released last month predicted a 15.6% decline. The statistical agency revised March's record decline to 9.9% from an initial 10%.
In a preliminary flash estimate, Statistics Canada said retail sales in May could rise by 19.1%.
"It's a long road back from these April lows," said BMO Chief Economist Doug Porter in a note.
All 10 Canadian provinces posted double-digit slumps, with the largest drops occurring in Ontario and Quebec, Canada's two most populous provinces. Retail sales plunged 32.8% in Ontario, while Quebec posted a 27.8% decline.
"Retailers were devastated by the shutdowns and physical distancing measures employed in April," said Royce Mendes, senior economist at CIBC Capital Markets.
"It wasn't all bad news in the report though. Retailers who had an online presence were able to capitalize on some of the shifts in buying patterns," he said.
Online sales surged to a record high, representing 9.5% of the total retail market, Statscan said, while on a year-over-year basis, retail e-commerce more than doubled.
Additional reporting by Dale Smith and Julie Gordon in Ottawa; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama, Paul Simao and Andrea Ricci


Librie now available with "English OS"
Looks like there may be a way to pick up an English-language version of the Sony Librie ebook reader after all. Dynamism — distributors of many a gray-market Japanese product — is selling a gadget that they advertise as having an "English OS." Details are sketchy on their site, and we're not about to shell out $479 to see how well this works (it could just be a version of the English firmware hack we reported on earlier) — though it is tempting. Dynamism is also including a utility to convert PDFs into the Librie's proprietary format — something that's a necessity, since there are no currently no English ebooks availble for the reader.


The comments on Part I are appreciated and I say again that it was only an aggregation of the views held by many others – NOT my personal view on Wenger. I would like to point out Mr. Victor Thomson as one of the most civil people I have ever had a disagreement with. Sir, I do not agree with most of what you say but you are the kind of person whose right to present their views I will champion at all times. I must, jowever, refute your view of Wenger staying put because he has a deal with Kroenke… I do not think that is the sort of person Wenger is and neither would you if the team were winning.
What has Wenger ever done for the club? Firstly let me provide you with some reading you may find interesting on the matter. These are some of my favourite pieces debating very near to this topic. Not all of them are unbiased and some of them are very old but all top notch and worth a read. Take your time to look through them please.
Most of those pieces have taken very different looks at the man and his achievements here at our beloved club and all have both bad and good things to say. I covered the bad in the Part I so this will mostly be about why I still want him at the club.
First and foremost, it must be said that Arsene's is one of the only footballing philosophies currently operating in the world. Although being a philosophy it is at times impossible to play out and doesn't always get the result needed, but in him we have a man of gigantic footballing stature. One whose ideas have transcended cultures to impress people, even in England, where functional football is more the lay of the land. Having him at the club means we have a recognition for it worldwide, and that helps both the fans and the club in that we are proud of our image and we can attract the best players in the world. They come to play the beautiful game: the slick, technical, intelligent and intricate game that our teams play year after year despite not having the best results to show for it.
Think of this for a second: 6-7 years down the austerity period, if Wenger had caved in to every doubter and the team started playing more functional football (read: defensive and/or danger free – a la LVG), would we have been able to sign the players we did even without trophies? Would Mesut Ozil have come to us? Would Alexis Sanchez have come to us? Heck, would Santi Cazorla have come to us?
And in the austerity period we played that way with a less talented squad (to say the least). For example in 2011 the team that lined up against Barcelona and won had the following starting XI: Szczesny, Eboue, Koscielny, Djourou, Clichy, Song, Wilshere, Fabregas, Walcott, Nasri, Van Persie. Subs: Almnia, Rosicky, Denilson, Squillaci, Arshavin, Gibbs, Bendtner. The scoreline that night was 2-1 to Arsenal, and that goes on to show the magic of Wenger's man management and also his ability to make a team whose sum total was much greater than the sum of its individual parts. That is an outstanding achievement for any manager and we have done that again and again with Bayern Munich too. It has become expected that Arsenal can beat the big guns but falter at the final hurdle. People only see the faltering at the final hurdle, they do not see the fact that beating a super heavyweight requires much more from the team than they would usually have and that extra comes from none other then Arsene.
Sports teams are expected to perform linearly, which is why champions are touted as favourites (HAHAHA. Chelsea) the next season; and players are selected right from a young age based on what growth they can show under observation (Jackie Wilshere) – linearly, that is. Whether performances can be sustained, or even growth can be kept on track, is impossible to foresee. However, Wenger has made a habit of producing non-linear results, whether a shock win against Bayern or a shock loss at Southampton (which should not be a shock really, it is not that bad a team). It also works the other way around – but then I can tell you that football teams do lose and since nobody has gone entire seasons unbeaten consecutively in modern day football, we can say that expectations are not always met. It all depends on what your expectation from the club is. My expectation is that the club keep playing a certain way and keep the class they have always had, which allows all of us to have the faith that we support a club that believes in doing things right.
The trophies he has given us are known by everybody, but nobody understands the magnitude of his achievement. This is the man who gave us The Emirates Stadium, the man whose brain and tactics kept us in the fray of England's top clubs at a time when money was just starting to make its way into the PL. He has foreseen the inflation of fees and the Emirates is the only reason we can still compete for signings with the big clubs and from next season, with basically all 20 teams in the league with the crazy TV money going in. When all clubs can give players the same wages, what do you think would pull them to a club? If you answered history then I must tell you that Liverpool are not doing well at all with history alone – and neither are Manchester United at the moment.
I have never supported the Arsenal for trophies, simply because they did not win too many when I started watching them. For the first 8 years of my support they won absolutely nothing and I had no complaint about that. Supporting a team is being part of a narrative and I believe that our part in the narrative is that of the good guys. The guys who play fair and play for perfection, without any oil money and without ridiculous wages. We stand up for our own with the likes of Diaby and Wilshere, and although even I would say it was foolish for us to carry them on for so long, it speaks to a certain mentality from the manager. Arsene Wenger is a man of his word and has brought honour and repute to the club in a way that nobody else has in the past few years that I have known football. No other manager apart from Alex Ferguson is so easily identifiable with a club as Wenger is, and he wasn't always well known in the good way.
Let us get this clear, I am not saying we should not want trophies or that fans who want Wenger out are wrong – but just that I would personally rather have him at the club than have a David Moyes-like situation occurring here. People who believe Wenger should be gone believe that we are stagnating under him and that the same things keep happening year after year. While I do not subscribe to that view I understand why it makes sense to such a large contingent of supporters, but I should also point out that if you think results are stagnating then that cannot always be blamed on Wenger. Players underperforming cannot be down to the manager all the time. If the Arsenal juggernaut derails every year and you think it is because Wenger doesn't have the winning mentality, just remember that this is the same man whose pursuit of perfection was such that he said an entire season unbeaten was possible, and then went on to make it possible.
I have felt the need to respond to some of the comments on the last post because they deeply injure my image of Wenger as a man. Especially those suggesting that he has made a deal with Kroenke to keep quiet and earn his millions on the sly. I am sorry to say that such claims disrespect and defame our manager in ways that nothing else would. I understand people are more attached to the club than to Wenger but he is part of the upholstery at Arsenal now and will be even after he retires, one cannot make such accusations without cause. Wenger loves this club and it is fine that he takes a huge salary, because one can do both without a conflict of interest. He is running an enterprise worth $1.4 Billion and it must have its perks, one cannot expect him to be earning peanuts. For comparison both Pep Guardiola and Mourinho charge much more than what Wenger does. Tell me after two seasons of Mourinho, is it worth it? Is Pep Guardiola as good with the A grade teams like us as he is with AA teams like Barcelona and Bayern Munich? I do not think so. No manager could have done what Wenger has done for the club and kept quiet about it at the same time. When we needed CL qualification to stay financially safe, he did not pressure the fans with that knowledge, he kept it to himself and took the bile from all angles. Even with Kroenke at the helm, he has managed to spend big on players when he has needed to and if the claims in the comments section were true that would not have happened.
For all of us there comes a time when we realize some things are simply not working out, and some of us make that realization faster than others. Whether it is time for another round of renewed success at the Emirates, I think he knows, Arsene Wenger, that if there is a time to go, it is now. Whether it is time for his team to go ahead and win him some vindicating titles, or it is time to walk into the sunset himself. It is best to leave the decision to him and worry only about supporting the team.
In the end it all comes down to what you think Wenger stands for. Is it money, greed, lust for power and inability to walk away from the past? Or is it sportsmanship, fair play, class, the pursuit of perfection and the right way of doing things?
I, for one, believe that for Wenger himself it has always been the latter. The possibility of turning sport into art appreciable by all society, to bring a smile through the very mention of the team he loves and has built up through hard work, that has driven him on for so many years. He will never be Ferguson with his 13 PL titles. He will always be Arsene Wenger, the man who believed that in sport it is not always about winning.
Sohum Sen is a half Bengali-half Gujarati Gooner from Kolkata, India. He lives the highs and lows with Arsenal and has a soft spot for Wenger. The things he loves most in the world are as follows- his little sister, his girlfriend and the Arsenal. Always available for a good debate, he fancies himself as a bit of a philosopher and as a tactician. He happens to be studying for a degree in Electrical Engineering, while simultaneously dreaming of writing a blog. He hopes to be a ST holder one day.
I am very grateful for your kind comments. Civilised debate is always a pleasure. In regard to the remarks I made regarding the possibility of an alliance between Arsene and Kroenke, I am not making excuses but I have to apologise because my comments were in reply to one made by another contributor which I mistakenly thought was an addendum to yours, and since I do not have his permission, I cannot mention his name.
However, on foot of his comment, I did some research on Kroenke and if you even look at the entry in Wikipedia, I think you will find that there is a history revealed of ignoring the wishes of fans in his other ventures mostly in the NFL. There is also 9 according to Wikipedia ) a clear and present history of non-achievement. he makes decisions, simply on the profitability of his venture and because the owners of clubs actually buy the franchise for them, they can move them to any geographical region they wish to without any apparent reference to the fans. He cannot be criticised for that because he is basically a predator feeding off something which happens to be a football club and which is dear to the hearts of its fans. His decisions are not predicated upon the love of the club and therefore he has not broken any moral code or done anything which would attract condemnation.
Given that Arsene possesses all of the finer qualities which you have described, it is inevitable that he will be tarnished with the suspicion that he does in some way, condone or assist in providing Kroenke with the end result which he desires i.e profit.
My criticism of Arsene is always tinged with regret. I have many times praised him for what he has done and my blogs have done that consistently. Notwithstanding that, I am also consistent in saying that he is arrogant now in a way that he was not 10 years ago. He is arrogant because he is repeating the same mistakes over and over again which have only come to light because he now has a team which could compete with the best, but cannot, because he will not accept advice. He did not need that advice when he kept making the right decisions but other managers have caught up and overtaken him and he refuses to see that.
He is not stupid by any means. The press respectfully refer to him as the professor with good cause and therefore it is hard to attribute his stubborness as anything other than arrogance.
A civilised conversation this is and i am extremely happy this has come to light here. before i go any much further, let me say proudly, and with a bit of arrogance….WENGER OUT…I say this because the legacy he built is starting to fall apart. He is no longer the genius he used to be. He has been found out by other managers and the world in general.
His arrogance to change tactics, listen to advices and particularly make informed decisions about some players beggars belief, in fact, it stinks. i am not and will i ever be a supporter of a man being allowed to take millions of fans for fools. i am not a man that thinks another man should have a job for life or that we are doomed without Wenger.
This is the kind of mentality that has stagnated the club for many years. do you know how many people live in this world of ours? how many football managers that have tasted more success than Wenger in a spectacular fashion but still get chucked out by their club for one or two poor performances?
Wenger betrayed David Dein, the man that brought to promote his position and further enhance his dominance. David Dein would have made him a better Manager than he is today. We would not have gone 12 years without any Trophy if Dein was still around. David Dein is the only man that speaks and Wenger listens.
Wenger should have stood up for Dein when the dirty politics of the Board started. Dein brought Kronke because he wanted us to be able to compete with the likes of Man Shiity and Chelski…..He would have forced Kronke to honour his promise of spending big on the club. Wenger stood by and let the Board treat Dein as they wish so that he could rise to prominence within the Arsenal Group.
Have you ever wondered why Usmanov, the richest guy of them all is not given any chance at all? Dein brought him to us too remember? Why would a manager not want somebody that clamour for glory and willing to spend his own personal money or the team as suppose the parasitic Kronke that steals form the club?
The answer is simple and straight forward, Wenger knows the pressure of winning will get to him as failure to do so with Usmanov financial backing will end his reign at the club. It is not in his CV to make money for the club. His main job is win football matches and turn us into champions…16 Years of champion's league qualification without a single success is an abject failure. 12 years of stagnation because of the path Wenger choses is an aberration.
Now, let sit back and enjoy Wenger's immunity put to shame by Leicester city. It would be a an indictment on him if they end up winning the league. What would Wenger's excuse be? He has not won it in 12 years, and Leicester are having a proper go at it at their second attempt. Oh, i can't wait to hear what the excuse will be this time around if it happens. i pray it happens. i want our club to be free from the clutches of stagnation and arrogance on the part of Wenger.
The only gift or the best he could possibly give to this great club of ours is for him to walk out at the end of this season, win or lose. it is time for new challenges and heaven knows the time is now.
You are obviously a committed Arsenal fan and from what I have read, a very disillusioned and hurt fan. That is sad because we all want to enjoy the club we fell in love with.
I too regret the demise of David Dein, but I cannot comment on the situation which brought it about. I know that he was responsible for Arsene`s arrival but I am not privy to the politics in the boardroom regarding his departure so I cannot take a view. I do understand however that Dein and Wenger have remained friends and therefore I have to assume that they have settled whatever personal issues there may be.
In my mind given the choice of Dein or Kroenke for Arsenal, it is a no brainer.
Aboy, if usmanov is so willing to spend his personal cash, what's stopping him from doing so? Forfeiting his dividends and giving them back to the club or giving the club a loan?


KANSAS CITY, Mo. — With more ways to get around the city — from the streetcar to electric scooters and electric bikes — Kansas City is about to launch a pilot program to study the increasing transportation options for a full year.
From now until Feb. 12, the city is accepting proposals to participate in a pilot program for electric scooters, e-bikes and other forms of shared transportation. The data gathered from the program could be used to change city code.
The goals of the pilot program are to make permitting and licensing easier for companies to set up shop in Kansas City, create a standard framework for the rules and regulations of the scooters and bikes, and influence the implementation of the new BikeKC plan.
"That will enable us to prioritize where we need to build more bike lanes, making sure we are satisfying the social equity goals, making sure they are serving all neighborhoods in the city, as well as determine any long-term policy changes that are needed," KCMO communications director Chris Hernandez said.
Currently, scooter companies Bird and Lime are on an interim agreement with the city. Hernandez said they can apply to be a part of the pilot program as well.
"Having it operate for an entire year means that we get to see the operations in all four seasons," Hernandez said. "We are a multi-season city. We want to make sure we see how they operate in all four seasons, as well as in any special events or emergency crisis times."
Kansas City Area Transportation Authority President and CEO Robbie Makinen said he noticed more people are using public transit and believes these new modes of transportation helps the KCATA's goal.
"The more options and access you have to different modes, the more apt you are to use public transit," Makinen said.
With the surge in popularity of the scooters and e-bikes nationally, Makinen believes this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to public transportation.
"You're talking about a streetcar extension, you're talking about autonomous vehicles, you're talking about technology changing every six months, for gosh sake," he said. "What we have to do as a city and as a transit authority is be ready for those changes, and that's what we're doing now."
The request for proposals is the first step in the pilot program. Proposals are due Feb. 12, and the program is expected to launch in spring 2019.


We have created a 2019 ranking of the best colleges in Hartford that offer Law Enforcement Administration degrees to help you find a school that fits your needs. Each school's ranking is based on the compilation of our data from reliable government sources, student surveys, college graduate interviews, and editorial review. In addition, you can view our entire list of all 1 Law Enforcement Administration school located within Hartford. We also provide reviews, facts, and questions and answers for schools on our site and offer you access to get valuable information from colleges and universities today.
Goodwin College offers 2 Law Enforcement Administration Degree programs. It's a small private university in a small city. In 2015, 32 students graduated in the study area of Law Enforcement Administration with students earning 32 Associate's degrees.
What Law Enforcement Administration degree programs were earned in Hartford?


text:
Q: Dynamically set Maven Surefire JVM classpath I'm trying to add the JVM classpath argument when running our Maven unit tests by adding the following maven arguments, with "dir" replaced by my desired clasaspath.

MAVEN_OPTS = -cp "dir"

This correctly then get's added to the Java arguments
Yet my "dir" is never correctly added to the classpath.
The desired file in the classpath is never found, and is always missing when printing out classpath with
ClassLoader cl = ClassLoader.getSystemClassLoader();
URL[] urls = ((URLClassLoader)cl).getURLs();

A: There's a difference between a JVM run by Maven and the JVM in use when running your tests.
The surefire plugin will spawn its own JVM to run your test case(s). By default, it will include the following on that JVM's classpath:

*

*Your project's classes directory

*Your project's test-classes directory

*Your project's dependencies.

If I have understood your question correctly then you want to add another directory to the classpath for the JVM which is running your test(s). If so, then you can add additional classpath entry like so:
<plugin>
    <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
    <artifactId>maven-surefire-plugin</artifactId>
    <version>2.20</version>
    <configuration>
      <additionalClasspathElements>
        <additionalClasspathElement>path/to/your/additional/directory</additionalClasspathElement>
      </additionalClasspathElements>
    </configuration>
</plugin>

More details here.
If you want to dynamically change the classpath used by the surefire JVM via a command line parameter (as your mention of MAVEN_OPTS implies) then you could define an additionalClasspathElement like this ...
<additionalClasspathElement>${additionalClasspathDir}</additionalClasspathElement>

... and then invoke Maven like this:
mvn test -DadditionalClasspathDir=path/to/your/additional/directory


The Leela Bracelet is approximately 7 inches in length and is fastened by a flower-shaped shell. It is woven with cotton cord and brass beads. Multiple colors are available to help add some fun to your bracelet stack. Avoid prolonged contact with water. Brass beads will oxidize over time.
The name Leela means Amusement.


text:
Opinion & AnalysisInternational
Elite Democracy: When Washington Reigned Supreme in Venezuela
By Chris Carlson - Gringo in Venezuela
In the 20th century, Venezuela transitioned from dictatorship to elite democracy and, finally, to that other dictatorship known as neoliberalism. The transitions were carefully orchestrated by Washington and the Venezuelan elite.
Jan 25th 2007 at 9.46pm
When Hugo Chávez spoke at the United Nations last September, he accused Washington of promoting "elite democracy" in the world. Most people who heard the speech might not have realized what exactly he meant by the term "elite democracy". Few people probably understood just how relevant his words were. But Chávez was speaking from personal experience. Like much of the world, Venezuela has experienced the frustrations of an elite democracy and its devastating results. Chávez understands that in order to confront the crisis of modern democracy in the world, we must understand the tragedy that is elite democracy.
Throughout history, Washington has been dedicated to the exclusion of the masses and the prevention of true democracy. A long history of installing and supporting dictatorships in countries around the world is evidence enough of this. But when dictatorships become a public relations issue, Washington promotes a form of democracy of the elites, modeled after the system in the U.S., to pacify the population. Both dictatorship and elite democracy play the same role of preventing the "risk" of a truly democratic system. Whether through elite democracy, or dictatorship, the participation of the masses must be minimized. Real democracy must never be allowed to function.
Venezuela is a perfect case study of how this Washington strategy functions. In the 20th century, Venezuela transitioned from dictatorship to elite democracy and, finally, to that other dictatorship known as neoliberalism. The transitions were carefully orchestrated by Washington and the Venezuelan elite. The "risk" of true democracy was carefully avoided. Not suprisingly, U.S. corporations got exactly what they wanted from Venezuela; huge amounts of cheap oil and the best customer for U.S. goods in Latin America.
The brutal dictator and Washington ally, Marcos Pérez Jiménez, gave generous oil concessions to U.S. companies in the 1950's, and, perhaps more importantly, further opened the door to U.S. imports.(1) Although this was very detrimental to Venezuelan national production and industry, U.S. companies and the Venezuelan elite class benefited greatly. The resulting trade balance heavily favored the United States, as the oil money that Venezuela received was circulated back to the U.S. in the import of consumer goods. What more could the U.S. ask for? The system was serving them perfectly, just as long as the excluded majority in Venezuela was kept under control by the dictator and his state police; the infamous "National Security" goons.
But throughout the 1950's, the opposition to the dictator was growing. The popular movement that developed to remove the dictator worried the United States. As usual, they were concerned about the the participation of the masses, and the radicalization of the popular movement. Anti-americanism was so intense that Vice President Richard Nixon and his wife were almost killed by a Caracas mob in 1958.(2) Washington needed to assure that the people would not take control, that the popular will of the masses would not be exercised.
While the U.S. officially urged against the development of democratic institutions in the 1950's, on the other hand, they maintained contact with the democratic opposition, cultivating the leaders to be friends of the the United States should they eventually come to power. Rómulo Bentancourt, the most famous opposition politician, was feared by Washington when he took power in 1946 because of his communist sympathies. But now he was being influenced by the State Department to ease his hostility towards the United States.(3) Bentancourt, known in Venezuela as the "father of Venezuelan democracy," was being taught the "acceptable limits" of democracy. Washington was showing him the ropes of the new system; elite democracy.
Elite Democracy: A "low-risk" democracy
Bentancourt became the next president of Venezuela after the fall of the dictator in 1958. But before open elections were held, the Venezuelan elite designed the new political system that would rule the country for the next forty years. Built on political pacts, the system basically committed itself to avoiding all conflict, and therefore, maintaining the status quo in the country. Many of the same business and elite leaders that had supported the dictatorship years earlier were now those who would design the new system.(4)
Bentancourt appeased the demands of the United States by outlawing communist and leftist parties. The result was a political pact, known as the Pact of Punto Fijo, between the two main parties that would share power equally between them, regardless of who won national elections. They agreed to avoid political conflict as well as structural change. The structure of the economy would not be changed and the institutions would be based on existing ones. As a result, large sectors of the political parties withdrew their support and resisted what they saw as elite rule. Venezuela was now supposedly a "democracy," but Washington and the Venezuelan elite class had assured that meaningful change would not take place.
The coalition government resulted in a democracy within "limits." A large portion of the population, and the political spectrum, was totally excluded. The formation of a common political and economic project between the two major parties meant that the worker and peasant classes would have to be contained; by force if necessary. Since leftist parties were made illegal, they were forced to work underground; guerrilla armies formed around the country. The CIA was permitted to monitor leftist activities in the country. The military, trained and armed by the United States, violently repressed the leftist parties, killing and torturing thousands.
Little had changed from the days of the dictator. The participation of the masses was limited to choosing between two elite parties every few years. Apart from that, the rest was left to the elite politicians. Limited reforms and benefits would be offered to keep the masses complacent, but real structural change would not be possible. Elite democracy had replaced the unpopular dictator, and Washington continued to have its way in Venezuela.
It is this form of elite democracy that Washington has promoted around the world, and continues to promote, though organisms like the National Endowment for Democracy, USAID, and other covert means. The basic idea is to put limits on the political system, restricting it to only those political programs that are not threatening to capitalist globalization. The strategy manages this by funding, training, and assisting political parties that are in Washington's capitalist interests and undercutting any mass political movements that are working toward more fundamental changes. Radical or revolutionary movements that demand any deeper change, or threaten the interests of global capital, are immediately opposed and impeded from taking power. Professor of Sociology at the University of California, William I. Robinson explains it as follows:
"In the overall strategy, Washington hopes to create through its "democracy promotion" programs "agents of influence"—local political and civic leaders who are expected to generate ideological conformity with the elite social order under construction, to promote the neo-liberal outlook, and to advocate for policies that integrate the intervened country into global capitalism. These agents are further expected to compete with, and eclipse, more popular-oriented, independent, progressive or radical groups and individuals who may have a distinct agenda for their country."(5)
The masses may be demanding more radical and fundamental changes, but the elite work to redirect or neutralize these demands. Just as earlier times in history, when the masses were considered too "ignorant" or "irresponsible" to be given any political power or to be consulted on national issues, in the modern age they are co-opted in more covert, clandestine ways. Whereas before the dictator would simply repress popular demands with violence, new sophisticated ways allowed the elite to repress them without confrontation. It was no longer acceptable to openly reject popular demands; now it was done privately.
In Venezuela, real democracy was much too "risky." What would the masses do if they could exercise their will? Would they kick out U.S. oil companies? Would they restrict U.S. imports and investment to protect Venezuelan industry? Would they cooperate with U.S. enemies? For Washington and the Venezuelan elite, democracy was much too dangerous. Once again, it had to be prevented.
The Road to Neoliberalism: The world-wide dictatorship
During the dictatorship and years of elite democracy, U.S. corporations were able to gain a strong foothold in Venezuela. The dictator Pérez Jiménez had drastically opened the economy to U.S. imports, and the elites that followed him did nothing to change this. Since the priority was to avoid conflict and not step on the interests of the elite, neither a policy of protectionism nor liberalization was adopted. The coalition government took a middle road that ended up favoring imported production and weakening national industrialists. Nascent Venezuelan production was obviously inferior to its U.S. counterpart and could not compete. Venezuelan national production lost ground to the U.S. importers, and that sector of the Venezuelan elite with ties to U.S. corporations came to dominate politics by the 1980's.(6) Elite businessmen came to realize that the way to survive was to invest in expanding U.S. and transnational expansion. Meanwhile, Venezuela became the most "Americanized" country in Latin America.
The conditions were set for neoliberal economic policies, and elite democracy had paved the way. The consensus government had failed to build any significant Venezuelan industry or production; U.S. and multinational corporations had taken over. The Venezuelan elite, lacking any loyalty to national interests, had jumped ship and joined the transnational capital class. As U.S. culture and investment further penetrated the Venezuelan economy, it became more logical and effective to make alliances with transnational capital.(7) Business associations, capitalist, investors, industrialists and professionals joined forces with foreign capital and, therefore, supported the neoliberal ideology.
President Carlos Andrés Pérez implemented the deadly economic policies of neoliberalism in 1989, with the consequence of massive urban riots, looting, and violence. Thousands were killed in the streets and in their houses by the national army. Throughout the years, oil income and loans had allowed the state to provide minimal social supports for the general population. But in the 1980's, when oil prices dropped, and the national debt had reached an all time high, Pérez was forced to comply with the mandates of the international lenders; neoliberal economics. The result was a drastic increase in poverty and misery.(8)
Promoted by the United States and the corporate-dominated lending institutions, neoliberal policies force open the economies of the world to international investment. Governments must minimize intervention in the economy, and privatize services and resources. The national budget must be dedicated to paying the debt. Everything else must be left up to the free market. Healthcare, education, public services, and national resources are opened up to international investors. All restrictions on investment and the flow of international capital must be removed, as multinational corporations complete their domination of the national economy.
Chávez has referred to neoliberalism as a worldwide dictatorship. This is perhaps a good characterization of its consequences, as nations are coerced into accepting certain policies. The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund dictate the terms. Any protections for local, national enterprises must be removed, as is all government intervention in the economy. Governments surrender all control of state-owned resources to multinational capital. National governments become irrelevant. Multinational capital runs the show.
Since a nation's citizens can only exercise their power over resources and the national economy by means of their government, reducing and privatizing the public sphere basically removes the only power a population has over their own society. The population is pushed out and excluded. Investors, corporations, and capitalists alone make decisions about the services, the resources, and the economy. Elite domination is totally secured, removing all ways in which the population could possibly intervene.
It's no wonder why Washington promotes and imposes neoliberal policies around the world. The goal in Venezuela and throughout the world has always been to prevent democracy, to shut the masses out of all decision-making. The neoliberal dictatorship is the perfect way to keep them permanently excluded, and ensures that all decisions will be made by the elite capitalist class. Just like under the dictatorships of earlier times, the people are spectators, not participants.
The plan almost worked in Venezuela, but the population stood up and fought back. Venezuela is now the enemy, a threat to Washington, not because it is "undemocratic", as they claim, but rather because it is democratic; not because Chávez is a dictator, but rather because he represents the majority. Because now Venezuela is controlled by the people, not by a corporate dictatorship.
(1) Ewell, Judith. Venezuela and the United States: From Monroe's Hemisphere to Petroleum's Empire. The University of Georgia Press, Athens, Georgia ©1996, pg. 177
(2) Ewell, pg. 165
(4) Coronil, Fernando. The Magical State: Nature, Money, And Modernity in Venezuela. The University of Chicago Press ©1997, pg. 226
(5) Robinson, William I. "Promoting Polyarchy: The New U.S. Political Intervention in Latin America," published in ALAI, Latin America in Movement, 2006-02-17
(6) Coronil, pg. 188
(8) Fernando Coronil; Julie Skurski. "Dismembering and Remembering the Nation: The Semantics of Political Violence in Venezuela, Comparative Studies in Society and History," Vol. 33, No.2. (Apr., 1991), pp. 288-337
Source: http://boog.dnsalias.org/chris/
Topics: International
Source URL: https://venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/2193