text:
Senate approves domestic violence bill
Bill bans some offenders from owning guns
Updated: 11:29 PM EST Feb 26, 2015
Liz Lohuis
A proposed bill by a South Carolina lawmaker could allow for optional firearm training in schools.
South Carolina is one step closer to making it against the law for certain criminal domestic violence offenders to own a gun.The Senate gave key approval to the bill this week with a 38-3 vote.Domestic violence survivor Krystal Henderson supports the bill. She is a newlywed and new mom, but said she wasn't always in a healthy place."He would beat me, do things to me, always keep me trapped, not let me see my family," said Henderson.Henderson said she often worried her ex-boyfriend would kill her."If they have a gun there is no hope. It's very scary. If they're not thinking twice about hitting them, how do you know they're not going to think twice about killing them, shooting them?" said Henderson.Henderson fully supports the criminal domestic violence bill."They're finally doing something," said Henderson.The bill separates criminal domestic violence offenses into three degrees.Those convicted of first and second degree offenses would be banned from owning a gun for 10 years.It would be up to a judge whether individuals convicted of the lowest level of offense would be stripped of their Second Amendment rights.Sen. Lee Bright voted against the bill."For a bad text message to take away someone's rights to self -defense for 10 years is a little strong," said Bright.Bright said he strongly agrees the state of South Carolina needs to be tough on domestic violence offenders, but said the bill has flaws.He said a third-degree offense could include sending unwanted text messages or slamming a briefcase on the floor."I think about a husband and wife getting into an argument, a heated discussion, they go through a rough time, next thing you know, five years later someone comes and breaks into their house and now all of a sudden they can't defend their home," said Bright.The bill needs final approval before heading to the House. That's expected to happen next week.
South Carolina is one step closer to making it against the law for certain criminal domestic violence offenders to own a gun.
The Senate gave key approval to the bill this week with a 38-3 vote.
Domestic violence survivor Krystal Henderson supports the bill.
She is a newlywed and new mom, but said she wasn't always in a healthy place.
"He would beat me, do things to me, always keep me trapped, not let me see my family," said Henderson.
Henderson said she often worried her ex-boyfriend would kill her.
"If they have a gun there is no hope. It's very scary. If they're not thinking twice about hitting them, how do you know they're not going to think twice about killing them, shooting them?" said Henderson.
Henderson fully supports the criminal domestic violence bill.
"They're finally doing something," said Henderson.
The bill separates criminal domestic violence offenses into three degrees.
Those convicted of first and second degree offenses would be banned from owning a gun for 10 years.
It would be up to a judge whether individuals convicted of the lowest level of offense would be stripped of their Second Amendment rights.
Sen. Lee Bright voted against the bill.
"For a bad text message to take away someone's rights to self -defense for 10 years is a little strong," said Bright.
Bright said he strongly agrees the state of South Carolina needs to be tough on domestic violence offenders, but said the bill has flaws.
He said a third-degree offense could include sending unwanted text messages or slamming a briefcase on the floor.
"I think about a husband and wife getting into an argument, a heated discussion, they go through a rough time, next thing you know, five years later someone comes and breaks into their house and now all of a sudden they can't defend their home," said Bright.
The bill needs final approval before heading to the House. That's expected to happen next week.


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text:
Fire At Taj Palace
Tipsters tell us about a fire last night at Taj Palace in Montclair
There was fire on Bloomfield Ave. at about 3:00AM this morning….sadly, it looks like Taj Palace has been burned out.
Hopefully you can find out if they plan to re-open, we loved that place.
Toast owner Amy Russo tells us her restaurant was not effected.
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anger_management March 7, 2010 At 12:22 pm
So sad. Takeout from there has always been such a joy…
shiftynj March 7, 2010 At 2:26 pm
We were at Toast this a.m. The windows of Taj Palace were broken but it appears as if the fire was mostly contained to the kitchen… dining room was largely intact. It was sad to see especially since all the tables were nicely set for tonight's dinner that won't be happening.
The Moroccan place next door was also spared apart from a smell… they're airing it out now so hopefully they can be open tonight.
I have always liked that place so hopefully they will be able to reopen soon.
Martta Rose Kelly March 7, 2010 At 3:24 pm
What a shame! I always liked that place…great food. Nice owners, too. Hope they're back in business soon.
dane March 7, 2010 At 3:49 pm
Mathew is a great guy. I hope he gets back up and running with as little heartache as possible.
Quim March 7, 2010 At 6:49 pm
So glad me have a well manned professional fire department able to put the fire out, and minimize damage to surrounding property. Tremendous work guys! Town Council, please take note!
galaxyman March 7, 2010 At 9:57 pm
I agree with the other posts: Mathew is a wonderful person, and Taj Palace is a great place. Best wishes for a quick return. I can't wait for my next Tandoori Special.
herbeverschmel March 8, 2010 At 3:54 pm
Never been there but you never want to hear a story like this. I hope it all works out for them and they're back in business soon.
Rob March 8, 2010 At 4:01 pm
Completely unrelated story.
A friend of mine lived in an apartment building above a restaurant. The eatery owner lived in the building – one night the restaurant burst into flames. Being an ancient building without sprinklers the fire quickly spread to the apartments. Luckily everyone made it out with their lives, to find the restaurateur and his family standing on the sidewalk with luggage
MellonBrush March 8, 2010 At 4:21 pm
What a shame. I hope they get back into business soon, I've never been there but have heard only good things about this place.
Jermaine Brown March 9, 2010 At 5:15 am
Really so touching bad news i had to know when i heard that Fire At Taj Palace, I feel so sad a eye opener spot of the Mumbai have the black circle on it. I like the Food of Taj shamed about to think How much country had to faced any more….
Blessings to Taj!!!
Thanks & Regards
https://www.datarecoverysoftware.com/
CariAnnV March 9, 2010 At 9:02 am
Taj Palace is our favorite reason to drive to Montclair for takeout. Hope they are on their feet as soon as possible.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


So, given Omar's love for fries and sriracha sauce and my love for sweet potatoes, the recipe below did not take long before everything was devoured. Neither of us are fans of mayo and we keep a very small jar of olive oil mayo in our fridge for those rare occasions when a recipe requires mayo. (I suppose I could be hoity and try getting away with calling this a sriracha aioli.) Surprisingly, my dear husbanders even gobbled up the dipping sauce, and I'll attribute that to the sriracha, not the mayo. Together, the heat in the sriracha and the tanginess of the mayo provide a great flavor contrast to the sweet potato fries. Instead of deep-frying, I use the oven to keep this healthier.
We enjoyed these sweet potato fries with some chili and it made for a great meal. I'll post the chili recipe soon. Not exactly a spring time recipe, but it is a hearty meal and makes for great leftovers!
Pre-heat oven to 450F. Wash and scrub the sweet potatoes well. If you want to, peel the potatoes, but this is a matter of personal preference. Cut the potatoes into medium pieces about ½ inch thick. I usually cut the potatoes lengthwise first, then cut each half into quarters width-wise. I then take each quarter of the potato and slice it into thick pieces.
Toss the potatoes in the cornstarch. You can do this by placing the cornstarch in a plastic zip lock bag and tossing a few bunches of potatoes in at a time and shaking them up or you can also coat the potatoes in batches in a large bowl.
After the potatoes are evenly coated, drizzle and coat with 2-3 table spoons of olive oil, until the fries are coated with the olive oil. You don't want them greasy, but you do want them to glisten with the oil. Sprinkle, toss and coat with a teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Spread the fries onto two large baking sheets. I used a silicone mat for ease of cleaning, but if you don't have them, just put your fry friends right on the baking sheet, don't line it with foil. IMPORTANT: give these little guys some space. Don't cramp their style and squish them all together. You want them to get crispy, and if they are cramped and squished, they will just sweat, steam, and get all soggy on you.
Bake the fries for 10-12 minutes, then flip the potatoes with a spatula. Bake for another 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown.
While the potatoes are in the oven, make the sriracha mayo sauce. Start by mixing ½ teaspoon of srircha with ½ cup of mayo. Mix well, and SLOWLY add more sriracha to taste. Remember, once it's in, you can't get it out, and the flavors will develop slightly over time, so make sure you can take the heat before adding more!
Serve fries with the dipping sauce immediately.
The dipping sauce was delicious–flavorful and not too spicy.


The Dutch oven is a versatile piece of traditional cookware that's so well-loved by home-cooks and professionals, it's still 'must have' kitchen equipment. All of these 'ovens' qualify as the best Dutch ovens for their ability to sear, steam, braise, caramelize, roast and bake bread. Or cook delicious meat and vegetable casseroles.
Each of our top-rated Dutch ovens has small design differences that make them easier to use. And suitable for different recipes. We also found that U.S. made Dutch Ovens are just as good, but a lot cheaper than, ones imported from France. So read on and find your best Dutch oven and always serve delicious meals!
There's no need to spend more than you need on a Dutch oven, as the 6-quart Lodge Color-Enamel Dutch Oven is just as efficient as French versions costing much more! And we don't say that lightly, as we've logged more than 60 hours of kitchen testing on this dependable, sensibly-priced cookware. The Lodge Enamel Dutch Oven is easier to handle, which is important when you're removing a full 6 quart container from a hot oven. And this is because it has larger handles than the average Dutch oven.
It's easier to get even cooking and faster washing because of its lightly curved design. This shaping stops food becoming trapped in the pot's corners. And this Dutch oven is wider, with shorter sides than some models. So you can get better high-heat searing and wonderful umami flavors from your meat. As for gravy-making, when you braise food in the wide-sided, Lodge oven, the water evaporates quickly leaving delicious, 'reduced' sauce!
This is slightly larger than the Lodge Dutch oven and we found that it cooked evenly. It allows water to evaporate efficiently, leaving you with gorgeous flavors, too. This is important to the finished dish, as it intensifies the flavor of any meat or vegetable dish cooked inside. As a larger piece of cookware, it's heavy to handle. So we'd rather see larger handles on pots of this size.
It's bigger than you need for the usual home-cooking recipes and more expensive than the Lodge. However, we recommend the Cuisinart 7-quart cast iron enamel casserole for pros and large capacity home-cooking.
This is the smallest out of our 3 best Dutch ovens and the most expensive. Le Creuset cast iron cookware has a global reputation as the best you can buy. It has the thickest and most durable enameling of any Dutch ovens on offer. Actually, as a piece of traditional kitchen cookware it's almost an objet d'art, to be passed down the generations! And with a capacity of 5 1/2 quarts, it's also the perfect size for most home recipes.
In addition, as far as safe handling is concerned, it has the largest handles. This means you can safely handle this casserole dish whilst wearing oven gloves or thick, pot pads. The enameling doesn't chip and make your cookware look unappealing. So it will last several life-times. This is something dedicated home-cooks dream of owning, but it isn't much better at cooking than the Lodge or the Cuisinart.
For most cooks, the Lodge 6 quart is an excellent choice for it's first-rate cooking efficiency and it's sensible price. If you need to cook larger quantities, go for the equally high-rated Cuisinart Dutch oven. And if you want something with almost iconic status in the world of cooking, invest in a Le Creuset 'French' Dutch oven! Bon appetit!


text:
Q: OBJ C - How to get the textfield name from a sender I have several textfields, each with tags, that I want to individually add to an array.  I need to figure out which field it is coming from before I add it.  I would like to use the same method for all of them rather than have a method for each textfield.
Is it possible to get the variable name of the textfield from the sender?  If they were button I could use [sender currentTitle], but I don't know how to get an identifier from the textfield.
I am thinking of something like this:
- (void)makeItSo:(id)sender
{
    NSString * senderName = (UITextField*)[sender stringValue] ;
    if ([senderName isEqual: @"name"] )
        -- add name to array
    else if ([senderName isEqual: @"address"] )
        -- add address to array
}

A: If you give each text field a tag, then use the tag:
- (void)makeItSo:(UITextField *)sender {
    if (sender.tag == 1) {
        // the name text field
    } else if (sender.tag == 2) {
        // the address text field
    }
}

This assumes you have set the tag property for each text field either in IB or in code.
It could be useful to define constants for each tag so you end up with something that is easier to read:
#define kNameTextField 1
#define kAddressTextField 2

- (void)makeItSo:(UITextField *)sender {
    if (sender.tag == kNameTextField) {
        // the name text field
    } else if (sender.tag == kAddressTextField) {
        // the address text field
    }
}

If you have outlets or instance variables then you can do:
- (void)makeItSo:(UITextField *)sender {
    if (sender == _nameTextField) {
        // the name text field
    } else if (sender == _addressTextField) {
        // the address text field
    }
}

where _nameTextField and _addressTextFields are the ivars for the text fields.

A:
Is it possible to get the variable name of the textfield from the sender?

No, unless it's an instance variable, in which case you can, but you better don't.

I don't know how to get an identifier from the textfield

As always, it's enough to read the documentation as use the tag property of UIView:
if ([sender tag] == SOME_CUSTOM_PRESET_VALUE) {
    // do stuff
}

A: For example you may have these text fields as ivars:
@property (weak) UITextField* textField1;  // tag=1
@property (weak) UITextField* textField2;  // tag=2
...
@property (weak) UITextField* textFieldN;  // tag=N

When you receive an action you simply do:
- (void)makeItSo:(id)sender
{
    // This is the searched text field
    UITextField* textField= [self valueForKey: [NSString stringWithFormat: @"textField%d",sender.tag] ];
}

But at this point why not using a single property which is an array with N text fields, instead of N properties?

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Join us for a special wine tasting and presentation from Jared Brandt, owner and winemaker of Donkey and Goat. Husband and wife team, Jared and Tracey Brandt are making some of the best natural juice in the states, right out of Berkeley, California. After leaving their tech jobs to pursue traditional winemaking in the Rhône Valley, Jared and Tracey began Donkey & Goat Winery in 2004.
We first fell in love with Donkey & Goat a few years ago after having a bottle of their sparkling Chardonnay 'Lily's Cuvée' at Oleana in Cambridge, MA. What distinguishes Jared and Tracey's natural wine is the simple elegance in the bottle. Donkey & Goat is unique and unusual wine, but pleases the most novice to the most advanced palates. We love Jared and Tracey's wines because they speak to all people, and they speak purely and from the earth.
Donkey & Goat wines are made 'naturally,' which is a term that includes both vineyard and cellar practices throughout farmed vineyards in the Sierra Nevada, Mendocino and Napa. Donkey & Goat wines are bottled without stabilizers, fining or filtration, and nothing is removed nor added except for minimal sulphur, falling under the guidelines of natural winemaking in Europe. While not required, Donkey & Goat includes their ingredient list on all of their labels: grapes and minimal sulphur.
This special evening includes a flight of five Donkey & Goat wines accompanied by a selection of cheese and charcuterie. Guests will receive a 10% discount on wines purchased at the tasting.
Tickets are $40/person. Seating is limited. Buy tickets here!


The technique of "editing photos taken on a green screen" involves the fixing and cutting of a photographed image before transferring it onto a final screen. This technique requires a green screen(in material for example) installed on a wall or attached to a frame as well as a technician to process the images.
The final screen is defined after; it can be completed using different brands or markings applied to the photo.
Allphotoevents has completely mastered green screen editing processes. The Photographers from Allphotoevents attend your events with green screen editing material(green screen, frame, PC+ technician) to capture images that respond to your communication needs or simply to your liking!


text:
The Development Initiative
Clearing the way for Business and People
Tel: +44 870 890 1815 | Fax: +44 870 928 9855
TDI was established in 2005 and provides a range of explosive threat mitigation and mine-action related services to multinational companies, and governmental and non-governmental organisations.
With a recognised footprint throughout Africa and the Middle East, TDI has completed over 80 projects in countries including Central African Republic, Côte d'Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mali, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Togo, Afghanistan, Iraq and Kuwait.
TDI has cleared over 26,600 km of routes and roads, removed more than 235,000 items of unexploded ordnance, and safely destroyed over 2,400 tonnes of unserviceable and obsolete munitions. 240,000 local people have received valuable explosive ordnance risk education. More than 8,600 personnel have been trained in improvised explosive device disposal and a further 2,200 people in explosive ordnance disposal.
TDI provides its clients with explosive detection dog solutions that are tailor-made to each project and theatre requirements.
HIGHLY SKILLED STAFF
STRINGENT QUALITY AND SAFETY STANDARDS
FLEXIBLE AND TAILORED OPERATIONAL SOLUTIONS
LOCAL COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
TDI employ personnel from over 35 countries worldwide. Our team is diverse with a wealth of practical experience from multiple theatres. Their backgrounds range from the Military and mine action to explosive ordnance disposal, dog services, marketing and finance. This enables TDI to offer a consistently high level of service, tailored to each customer's requirements.
Collectively, our staff have worked in countries including Cambodia, Bosnia, France, Kosovo, Lebanon, Laos, Mali, Nepal, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, United Kingdom and Zimbabwe.
TDI is an equal opportunity employer and is dedicated to building a culturally diverse community. As an organisation, TDI particularly encourages applications from women and minorities.
TDI constantly strives to improve its level of performance to provide the highest quality of service in the mine action industry. TDI approaches each project with a rigorous set of key performance indicators and actively encourage independent benchmarking and customer feedback.
A strong commitment to Health, Safety and the Environment (HSE) is a top priority for TDI for the protection of our staff whilst meeting operational objectives.
All TDI projects are approached with flexibility and are individually tailored to each client's requirements and the operational environment. An experienced Project Manager oversees the team using TDI's proven methodology and standard operating procedures. The headquarters of each project provide continuous support to the teams in the theatres in which we operate, ensuring quality of service is guaranteed at all times.
Local community development is always top of mind for TDI. Where possible, TDI personnel utilise their experience to build local capacity through skills imparted by training, employment opportunities and improving local resources through small, sustainable projects.
EXPLOSIVE THREAT MITIGATION
TDI has developed a broad range of Explosive Threat Mitigation solutions after years of working in hostile and post-conflict areas. These include IED Disposal as well as EOD and IEDD Training and Mentoring.
TDI provides a wide range of mine action services to release cleared land back to local communities in theatres affected by conflict. These include non-technical survey, technical survey, manual and mechanical clearance, battle area clearance and EOD.
WEAPONS & AMMUNITION MANAGEMENT
TDI has developed significant knowledge in weapons and ammunition management and can assist with a broad range of activities including storage, transportation, handling processes, operating procedures and disposal.
TRAINING AND MENTORING
TDI provides a broad range of training and mentoring services to governmental, non-governmental and commercial sectors. All training is carried out by experts within their field and ranges from EOD, IEDD, C-IED to first aid and weapons and ammunition management training.
TDI has a history of providing specialist detection dog services to multinational companies, governmental and non-governmental organisations. Our primary focus is explosive detection; however, we can also provide dogs for other disciplines including security and patrol.
TDI provides fully staffed and equipped workshops for the repair and maintenance of light, heavy, armoured and specialist vehicles as well as plant equipment and generators.
"Exceeded all my expectations on this work, the professionalism and standard of the work process was exceptional... TDI played a big part in keeping my schedule on track."
Louis Berger / Black and Veath JV
"I have found TDI to be very thorough and professional in carrying out their demining activities and I have no hesitation in recommending their services to prospective clients."
Louis Berger Group
"TDI continues to adapt to the changing requirements of the operational environment and we would have no reservations on recommending them for inclusion in further projects in challenging conditions."
Terra Seis Geophysical Limited
"TDI have conducted all operations with professionalism, enthusiasm and initiative. They have kept production going during extreme weather, when other subcontractors have not been able to maintain their operations."
White Nile Ltd
"The work completed to date has been to a standard exceeding expectations of WesternGeco."
WesternGeco
"(TDI) have conducted themselves in a professional and dedicated manner in all interaction with the Sudanese authorities and local population. In addition to this they have worked closely with the National Mine Action Centre when required and cooperated fully with all our partners in Darfur for which we are very grateful."
NMAC
"I am indebted to TDI for the intense and comprehensive training of Sibro's National EOD Operators and the continuing mentorship of these teams…It is my fervent hope that TDI should continue its good work"
Sibro Organisation for Development
"We can certify that the professional relationship established early last year has yielded success in implementing a complex project and delivering the expected results. We value TDI as a reliable partner and are extremely satisfied with the cooperation to date."
MineWolf Systems AG
They have provided a professional and high level of clearance support as well as project management throughout the contract period. We would recommend them to any future contractor."
Gulsan Group of Companies
It is very impressive to see how much you and the team have managed to achieve in extremely challenging circumstances. The project is really building momentum.
TDI project – Security Enhancement against IED Threats
In May 2020, armoured vehicles of the Force had been silted up for several days so a recovery truck was needed. TDI personnel were escorted to the site and did an outstanding and effective job of assisting the vehicles. I would like to personally thank all those involved for their professionalism and their reactivity.
Sector West HQ
Weapons and Ammunition Management
Telephone +44 870 890 1815
info@thedevelopmentinitiative.com
Sign up to our newsletter to receive the latest news and updates from the field.
© 2020 The Development Initiative | All Rights Reserved | Website by Yellow Door Collective


text:
Weaponized Entitlement: Book Cover Frames a Gun-Toting Clinton as Deviant, Dangerous
When Nation Magazine contributing editor Doug Henwood chose an 8-year-old painting of Hillary Clinton as the cover image for his new book, he stoked the anti-Clinton fires that have had some on the Left feeling the Bern. Clinton is trouncing Sanders in national polls and has overtaken him in primary states such as South Carolina and New Hampshire; She is racking up Democratic endorsements by the hundreds; and her performance in the first Democratic candidate debate and the recent Benghazi hearings has underscored her position of strength. Clinton's status as the unequivocal frontrunner should be a major advantage, but opponents on both the left and right are attempting to cast it as a liability.
How so? By creating a gendered narrative of entitlement that suggests that Clinton is bullying and bossing her way into the Democratic nomination. When paired with the book's title, "My Turn," artist Sarah Sole's image weaponizes that entitlement, casting Clinton's presidential ambitions as deviant and dangerous. This narrative is fundamentally sexist because of how differently it treats Clinton's political strength in comparison to that of her opponents and of the men who have made multiple runs.
One question that routinely gets raised about prospective presidential candidates is whether they have the "fire in the belly" needed to succeed in a long and grueling campaign. Far from being a disqualifier, personal and political ambition typically has been a prerequisite. Moreover, prospective male candidates routinely seek their party's nomination more than once before earning the nomination (e.g. Bob Dole, John McCain, Mitt Romney, etc.), with their stature often rising during later bids.
Clinton's multiple bids, however, have been presented as signs of an unhealthy thirst for power and as proof that she will do anything to get what she wants. This narrative has been constructed in political and popular media for years—The Onion even lampooned the trend as early as 2006. Ambition in women is often evaluated as proof that they are unnatural, dangerous, and obsessive. During the 2008 Democratic primary, Clinton was famously compared to Glenn Close's character in Fatal Attraction. That comparison also came from a liberal male journalist, Ken Rudin (at the time, he served as political editor for NPR). The "My Turn" image depicts a cold and calculating Clinton, ready to take the presidency by force. Although the book's subtitle suggests that she is "Target[ing] the Presidency," the gun is trained on the reader/voter, heightening the perception of personal threat.
Henwood's choice to feature a gun-toting Clinton also is notable because Clinton has made gun control a major campaign initiative and recently criticized Sanders for voting against Congressional legislation that required stricter background checks. Intended by the artist to be a marker of Clinton's strength, in the context of the current news cycle the image tacitly but forcefully impugns the authenticity of Clinton's anti-gun sentiments.
Some have suggested that the image is not explicitly sexist, since one can imagine the same sort of cover featuring a male politician. But the image resonates differently because of our culture's historic vilification of female power. Slate's Nora Caplan-Bricker points out that
in the context of a book that lambasts Clinton's hawkishness and ambition, it plays into the stereotype that any woman who wields force is cartoonishly unnatural, a villain.
Early talk about the cover on Facebook was replete with misogynistic stereotypes. Geoff Schecht argued that it was "an appropriate enough book cover. Talk about being ruled over by The Wicked Witch of the West should Hillary win the election." Sandy Gudaitis concurred, asking, "Her turn to be a witch? She's been that for most of her life."Henwood's attempt to deny that the image had misogynistic overtones was particularly ironic. According to an MSNBC piece by Erica K. Landau, Henwood asserted,
What I don't get is the reaction that calls the cover sexist . . . I have no problem with ball-busting women.
As Henwood knows, "ball-busting women" tend not to fare well at the U.S. ballot box. Herein lies the real problem for Clinton and for other female presidential prospects. It's the first timer/frontrunner dilemma. As Kristina Horn Sheeler and I argue in our book Woman President: Confronting Postfeminist Political Culture, although women have been running for over 100 years in the United States, they have been tagged as perpetual presidential novices—first timers who lack the gravitas and/or experience needed to win. Consequently, seasoned political pros like Pat Schroeder and Elizabeth Dole couldn't muster the funds and party endorsements needed to succeed in their party's primary contests. Hillary Clinton solved that problem and has sustained her status as the frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination. Now, however, her position as frontrunner is being used to suggest that the nomination process is anti-democratic. That her strength emerges from a dynastic sense of entitlement or a pathological will to power. To be sure, Hillary Clinton's sights are trained on the U.S. presidency; her critics, however, are targeting much more than her political record.
Karrin Anderson | @KVAnderson
(Original Art: Sarah Sole; book published by O/R Books)
Karrin Anderson
See other posts by Karrin here.
Women and Gender Focus
The Art of the Newswire Photo
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Ben Carson on the Bubble: Scott Olson's "Red Light" Photo from Iowa
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World-famous makeup artist Jillian Dempsey discovered this brilliant, face-smoothing gold bar on a job in Japan, and immediately started using it on her clients. Made with 24-karat gold, it uses subtle vibrations to make the face appear more sculpted; it feels amazing, like a firm massage. Dempsey uses it to get her clients ready for the red carpet, but recommends using it daily for 10 to 15 minutes for optimum results. The effects last for the better part of a day or night.
Remove all makeup from your face. Turn on roller, and gently smooth the bar upwards across your face. For the jawline and chin, smooth the bar down towards the neck. Ten to fifteen minutes is the ideal amount of time, and know that you can move the bar any way that feels good/works for you.


Outstanding opportunity live in one of Cupertino's most sought after location. Located on a quiet culdesac and only 1 mile to vibrant Main Street Cupertino-Cupertino's new Downtown! Top Cupertino Schools and quick access to Stevens Creek Blvd. Lawrence Exp. and Highway 280. Significant upside potential and the ability to design your new home while you live in the existing structure or rent it out.


Scores of anti-government armed militants have been killed during separate operations conducted by the Afghan and Coalition Forces in the past 24 hours.
According to the informed military sources, a coalition air strike in support of Afghan Special Forces killed 4 Taliban fighters in Qaisar district of Faryab province.
The sources further added that Afghan Special Forces conducted a raid in Baraki Barak district of Logar province while a coalition air strike, in defense of soldiers on the ground, targeted and killed 4 Taliban fighters.
Afghan Special Forces conducted a raid in Jaji district of Paktia province killing 2 Taliban fighters, the sources said, adding that Afghan Special Forces conducted a separate raid in Sangin district of Helmand province killing 20 Taliban fighters and destroying 23 IEDs, 1 mortar round and a large amount of home-made explosives. During the raid, 4 pressure plates, 3 remote control initiators and over 1,000 pounds of ammonium nitrate were destroyed.
Two coalition air strikes near Tarin Kot city of Uruzgan province killed 10 Taliban fighters, the sources added.


text:
Does the Family Research Council's bland video make the case for gays to join the Boy Scouts?
The Family Research Council just posted its video about the Boy Scouts thinking of lifting the ban on gays and I gotta tell you from my heart:
It sucks.
Not in the manner of yesterday's video by Janet Porter. While her video contained wild charges of pedophilia and abuse, I'm guessing FRC choose to take the high road and hold back on the hyperbole. Thusly, the organization ends up with a bland video which is just as bad as Porter's.
FRC's video doesn't explain why the organizations feels that gays shouldn't be allowed to become members. But believe it or not, in the first part of the video FRC actually makes the case for gays to be members. After all, what parent wouldn't want their child, gay or straight, to be a member of such an upstanding group which produced leaders like Martin Luther King, Jr.?
'Kanye West called 'half a f@g' in blistering homophobic attack' and other Tuesday midday news briefs
Duff Goldman, 'Ace Of Cakes' Chef, Offers To Bake Rejected Lesbian Couple's Wedding Cake For Free - In a followup to yesterday's post about a lesbian couple discriminated against for only seeking a wedding cake comes a happy ending.
Kanye West Blasted As 'Half A Fag,' 'Pioneer Of Queer Sh*t' On New Lord Jamar Track - Kanye West isn't necessarily one of my favorite people but this ridiculous rant by a rapper who chooses to attack him opens a window to the world of what the gay black male has to deal with. Apparently a lot of the homophobia from within the black community comes at us because some folks feel that they are the arbiters of just what encompasses a "suitable black man," i.e. made of stone, not showing emotions, and being a picture of masculinity as improbable to sustain as a Barbie doll's figure is for a woman. I think in Lord Jamar's tribute, I will do some Bette Davis interpretations.
Boy Scout memo: legal challenges, pressure from churches cited in policy change - Maybe, just maybe the Boy Scouts aren't pulling our legs with its possible decision to change its anti-gay policy.
Matt Barber, as mature and measured as ever - Dear American Christians. This is reason one through five why you are losing popularity.
Transgender woman settles lawsuit with Boston over treatment during 2010 arrest - And I hope the girlfriend got PAID!
Fear vs. fairness in the Boy Scouts - a video presentation
Let's play the comparison game.
The following is that awful religious right video about the phony dangers of gays in the Boy Scouts:
Compare this monstrosity to this video of gay Scouts, leaders, and their families who yesterday delivered 1.4 million petition signatures to Boy Scout headquarters asking that the organization end its "no gays allowed" policy:
In the matter of the Boy Scouts, it is the classic case of fear vs. fairness.
Let's all hope that fairness wins.
Does the Family Research Council's bland video mak...
'Kanye West called 'half a f@g' in blistering homo...
Fear vs. fairness in the Boy Scouts - a video pres...


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Two Anil Ambani group firms propose $11 bn merger deal
Mumbai, July 4 (IANS) The boards of two energy firms belonging to the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) — one in the business of generating power and the other that trades and transports oil and gas — Sunday approved their merger in a $11-billion all-stock deal.
'The board of directors of Reliance Power and Reliance Natural Resources today approved a scheme of amalgamation of the two companies in an over Rs.50,000 crore ($11 billion) all stock deal,' said an ADAG statement.
The board also approved the conversion rate of four shares of Reliance Natural for every Reliance Power share. The exchange ratio was based on the valuation by global consultancy firm KPMG.
The proposed scheme is subject to approvals of the shareholders of the the two companies, the stock exchanges and the Bombay High Court, among other statutory requisites and permissions.
The group said the deal would bring 'substantial benefits' to the shareholders of both the companies, as it would expedite a gas supply agreement with Mukesh Ambani controlled Reliance Industries.
The merger, thereby, will accelerate Reliance Power's plans to set up gas based power plants of over 8,000 mw capacity. Also, shareholders will gain from four coal bed methane blocks of Reliance Natural Resources and a 10 percent share in an oil and gas block in Mizoram.
Among other benefits that will accrue to the shareholders of the companies, the statement said, the merged entity will see cost efficiency for fuel supplies through Reliance Natural's coal supply logistics and shipping business.
Post the approval of the merger, Reliance Power's net worth will swell to over Rs.16,000 crore, having added around net worth of around Rs.1,900 crore o Reliance Natural.
The two companies had a market capitalisation of Rs.10,394 crore and Rs.41,979 crore respectively at closing bell Friday.
In fact, according to the statement, 80 percent of the shareholder of Reliance Natural Resources shareholders, also hold equity in Reliance Power, and had got their stake free of cost when the original Reliance empire was split.
'Reliance Natural Resources shareholders will benefit from the proposed amalgamation by participating in future growth prospects of Reliance Power's diversified generation portfolio of 37,000 mw,' said the statement.
The group also has substantial coal reserves in India and abroad. Among Reliance Power projects are three ultra-mega power plants at Sasan in Madhya Pradesh, Tilaiya in Jharkhand and Krishnapatnam in Andhra Pradesh.
'Reliance Power will have over 6 million shareholders, the world's largest shareholding family, upon completion of the deal.'
Shutdown against fuel price hike unjustified: Deora
Himachal apple prices crash due to oversupply


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House Passes 'Minibus' Over Democratic Objections
Sen. Shelby: 'The sooner the better'
Senate Appropriations Chairman Richard Shelby, R-Ala., hopes to pass the first three fiscal 2019 spending bills this week. (Photo By Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)
By Kellie Mejdrich and Jeremy Dillon
Posted June 8, 2018 at 1:15pm
The House passed a roughly $147 billion three-bill fiscal 2019 spending package on a partisan 235-179 vote Friday, overcoming Democratic objections to environmental policy riders and funding priorities in the GOP-drafted Energy-Water title.
The "minibus," which also carries the Military Construction-VA and Legislative Branch measures, is the first of what House GOP leaders expect to be a series of three-bill packages to try to expedite passage of at least a few of the 12 annual spending bills before the new fiscal year begins Oct. 1.
On final passage 16 Republicans crossed the aisle to vote "no" on the package, but the defections were outweighed by 23 Democratic votes for the minibus.
It's unclear what the Senate's timetable is, however, as that chamber's Appropriations Committee won't take up their not-yet-introduced Legislative Branch version until next week. The Senate floor schedule is expected to be jammed with consideration of the fiscal 2019 defense authorization bill next week as well.
Senate Appropriations Chairman Richard C. Shelby, R-Ala., couldn't say when appropriations bills would reach the floor in that chamber.
"Soon, but I don't know how you define soon … The sooner the better. We are trying to get them through the committee to the floor and go from there," Shelby said. "The more we get up there, the quicker we can do it. We are trying to work together, trying to keep a lot of riders off. We are doing OK at this point, but we want to keep moving. We are ready to go."
The three bills processed by the House are among those GOP leaders consider prime candidates to get to President Donald Trump's desk before the Sept. 30 deadline, thus breaking the recent streak of mega-spending bills, called "omnibuses," encompassing all 12 of the measures or close to it. Trump has said he won't sign another last-minute omnibus bill, after the 2,200-page $1.3 trillion fiscal 2018 omnibus enacted in March that cleared Congress within two days of its introduction.
But there are plenty of reasons to believe House-Senate negotiations won't be quick and easy even on the three measures passed by the House Friday.
One area of contention is veterans health care. After adding $1.1 billion during floor debate, the House bill would provide $86.4 billion for the Department of Veterans Affairs, matching levels approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee this week in their version of the Military Construction-VA bill. But senators on both sides of the aisle agree more money is needed to pay for the overhaul of private medical care alternatives for veterans who can't readily access services they need at VA facilities signed into law this week.
Senators want to exempt the added veterans health care funds from fiscal 2019 budget caps enacted in February, but the White House and House Republicans want to remain under the limits by cutting from other accounts.
House Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., said he didn't know where the extra money for veterans would come from, but that lawmakers would find a way. "Over a budget this large, we can find the dollars, but every [Appropriations subcommittee chairman] would tell you why they shouldn't be from his allocations. I've been rehearsing my speech," Cole said. "But in the end we can get there."
Another major difference between the chambers will be language in the Senate Military Construction-VA bill that would allow VA doctors to recommend medical marijuana for veterans in states where it's legal, addressed in an amendment incorporated into the Senate measure at Thursday's markup.
Energy-Water fights ahead
Perhaps the most contentious debate ahead between the House and Senate will be over the Energy-Water title. In the House, the fiscal 2019 appropriations bill would dedicate $44.7 billion to agencies under its purview, including $35.5 billion for the Department of Energy, $7.3 billion for the Army Corps of Engineers, and $1.6 billion for the Interior Department's Bureau of Reclamation.
House lawmakers want more money for nuclear weapon modernization efforts while introducing cuts to renewable energy research. It also would set aside funding for the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository in Nevada and continue funding for the mixed oxide fuel fabrication facility in South Carolina. The House bill includes controversial policy riders meant to ease the repeal of the EPA-Army Corps joint "Waters of the United States" regulation. Democrats have called the measure a "poison pill" unlikely to survive Senate scrutiny.
But the House's priorities differ markedly from the Senate, where the Appropriations Committee approved its Energy-Water bill on a 30-1 vote. The Senate's legislation (S 2975) would fund the same agencies at $43.8 billion, but direct more money to accounts favored by Democrats. DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy would see $2.3 billion, equal to fiscal 2018 and $200 million more than the House version. The Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, or ARPA-E, would get $375 million, $22 million more than last year and $50 million more than the House.
The Senate would also allocate funding for an interim storage approach to commercial nuclear waste, avoiding Yucca Mountain. It would also endorse a DOE strategy to abandoned the MOX facility in South Carolina in favor of a "dilute and dispose" approach to 34 metric tons of weapons-grade plutonium resulting from a nuclear arms disarmament agreement.
Previous years' negotiations have resulted in a standstill in nuclear waste policy — something likely to occur again this year.
Amendment debate
Lawmakers plowed through nearly 80 amendments made in order on the three-title bill, and adopted more than 35 of those.
A number of the potential changes were relatively uncontroversial and many were withdrawn. But some highlights of the amendment debate, which stretched late into Thursday night, include:
The House adopted, by voice vote, an amendment from Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., that would prohibit funds appropriated to the Legislative Branch to be used to purchase plastic drinking straws.
There was heated debate Thursday over an amendment from Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., that employed what's known as the "Holman Rule," recently reinstated by House leaders, that allows members to target individual federal employee salaries. Gosar wanted to cut the salary of the administrator of the Western Area Power Administration, Mark Gabriel, to $1, which lawmakers rejected 139-276.
Following the addition of $1.14 billion for the new VA law regarding private care access sanctioned by House leaders, the House adopted by voice vote an amendment from Rep. Salud Carbajal, D-Calif., that would increase funding for Veterans Health Administration medical services by $8 million and would decrease by the same amount funding for community care — the account which funds medical care outside VA facilities.
Legislative branch details
The House's Legislative Branch bill, which saw little debate on the floor as lawmakers were mostly supportive, would provide $3.8 billion in discretionary spending for the House of Representatives, the Library of Congress, the U.S. Capitol Police and various legislative agencies for fiscal 2019, $132 million more than the fiscal 2018 enacted level.
That includes a 7 percent increase for Capitol Police over enacted 2018 levels, to $456.4 million; a 9 percent increase for the Office of Compliance, which oversees workplace safety and anti-harassment training and response, to $5.4 million; and $147.6 million for the House chief administrative officer, will support the House's effort to respond to pervasive sexual harassment on Capitol Hill.
The Legislative Branch measure's full spending allocation, which accounts for Senate-specific items that chamber will add later, comes to $4.88 billion.
The largest piece of the minibus, the Military Construction-VA measure, would provide $98 billion in fiscal 2019 discretionary funding overall. That figure includes the $1.1 billion added for VA health care, as well as $921 million for spending cap-exempt Overseas Contingency Operations funds for military construction projects to help position U.S. troops stationed in Europe to defend allies against potential threats from Russia. The combined measure would provide $5.3 billion more, or a 5.7 percent boost, for programs funded in the Military Construction-VA title above the current fiscal year.
Andrew Siddons, Morgan Cahn and Jacob Holzman contributed to this report.


Helping transition your family member into a safe and stimulating residence they can call home.
Is your loved one with autism transitioning to adulthood?
Maybe you feel overwhelmed when it comes to figuring out where they will live, if not with you, so they can continue to receive the care and support they need. And, if that's the case, you're not alone.
One of the most challenging parts is finding the right group home for adults with autism. Our mission is to make it easier for you by providing a personalized residential living plan that is specially developed to support and help an individual with autism reach their full potential.
If you're wondering whether or not a residential living program at The Brambles is right for your family member, explore what makes us different from the rest.
Additionally, we offer scheduled routines and optimal strategies to avoid meltdowns and effectively handle outbursts.
The journey to residential living can be daunting for any family.
We feel it's an absolute must to keep an open line of communication between you and your loved one. We also cultivate a support team for you and your family, which is made up of The Brambles' staff and support coordinators, allowing you the opportunity to provide suggestions and get the support you need throughout the transition.
At The Brambles, your family member has the option to bond with other residents and the community through planned in-home activities and events, as well as recreational outings to the bowling alley, movie theaters, beach, and more.
We recognize the importance of adhering to a scheduled, familiar routine. This is why transportation and support services are all done right here on our property at The Brambles Day Support Center. This enables our residents to look forward to engaging with familiar drivers and day program staff members.
The Brambles owns and operates ten private group homes for adults with autism, each within Mathews County on Virginia's Middle Peninsula.
Each residence is custom-built within a neighborhood-like environment and features various amenities designed to support intellectually and physically disabled residents who have shared interests and behaviors.
Ready to discover a place where your loved one is fully supported 24/7? Explore the following residence options we have to offer.
The Bella Terra Road location features six group residences set on 55 acres of land. These large, open-space living environments offer comfortable furnishings, large gathering kitchens, and spacious modern bathrooms. Additionally, each group home is equipped with wide screen TVs, puzzles, and board games which provide residents with entertainment, and the opportunity to socialize or quietly relax.
Approximately three miles from Bella Terra, the New Life Harbor location features two group residences set on 84 acres of active farmland.
Located between Bella Terra and New Life Harbor is the Windsor Residence, which is newly renovated to meet our highest standards. Here, we can successfully serve the needs of ID adults while giving families the peace of mind their loved one is fully supported.
The Brambles encourages adults with autism to live with as much freedom and independence as they wish. Our group homes and day support services provide ongoing support for the individual and assist them in living the highest quality of life possible.
You may download a brochure to find additional details on our group homes for adults with autism, as well as information on our day services.
Contact us for more information on The Brambles' adult group homes or to schedule a tour.


Unique design. Custom size. Exclusive interior.
MAS has developed a systematic approach to sustainable design throughout the last twenty years. The dramatically changing global climatic conditions require a more sensitive and thoughtful consideration of energy, water and waste issues. Considering the effects that buildings and their operating systems, have on the environment, developing new strategies to minimise future projects' ecological impact, is the only way to ensure a healthy environment for future generations.
Lighting, acoustic, graphic and interior design specialists envision award winning places and provide creative solutions, from innovative new hospitality brands to designing luxury boutique hotels, resorts, casinos and restaurants.
Architecture, urban and interior design, planning, project management and construction management. We offer extensive services in all fields of practice, constant collaboration with structural and electrical-mechanical engineering associates ensures optimum results.
As a team, we insist on design excellence, principal commitment, and outstanding services to clients. Your participation in the design and planning process is crucial.
client participation in the planning and design process is crucial.


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Meet 777.BINGO: The World's First Blockchain-based Pan Entertainment Platform
Mar 13 2018 · 13:27 UTC | Updated Jan 9 2020 · 21:14
Photo: 777.BINGO
The goal of the project is to provide an open and transparent publishing platform both for blockchain and traditional games that will solve the main issues of the game industry.
For most people, blockchain is still associated with bitcoin and other digital currencies. Although that's true that it serves as an underlying technology for the cryptocurrency, the reality is that the potential applications for the technology are much wider than just virtual currencies.
The primary benefit of blockchain is decentralization, which ensures transparency and security of apps running on the technology. Unlike such platforms as Facebook or Gmail, which have full control of your content, blockchain-based applications are not controlled by any entity and let users to manage their own data however they want.
777.BINGO is the new project that is designed to bring the advantages of the blockchain technology into the gaming industry. It is a cross-functional entertainment platform that will enable game publishers and players to interact in an organized, transparent, secure, and professional manner.
777.BINGO is essentially a game store, like Apple's App Store or Google's Play Store, allowing users to publish and distribute content on their platform. However, unlike these platforms, 777.BINGO is a completely fair and open ecosystem, where content creators are not limited by any terms and conditions or license agreements. This makes it easier to for game developers to promote their product and offers equal opportunity for users to get the highest rewards.
The platform is fueled by its native coin that can be stored in a wallet, used for game payments, or traded between Bingo users. By introducing its own token, the startup aims to overcome the existing difficulties of processing transactions in the gaming sector.
All users of the platform, including publishers, players and advertisers, can generate revenue on 777.BINGO. You can monetize your content and get rewards when gamers purchase it or vote for keeping it on the platform. Due to the traffic exchange system, 777.BINGO management will be able to monitor all purchases and launch ads targeted at players, thus generating additional income.
Another key feature integrated into the system is designed to deliver a more enjoyable experience to the community. By using tips, users can find gamers who want to play with them, or can pay a commission to find people willing to solve certain problems for them in a game. Thus, users can earn cryptocurrencies and make new friends while helping other players to level up in their game.
In addition to high security and transparency, 777.BINGO will offer game publishers low barriers to entry and an easy access to a broad market of players, as well as the ability to monetize content. The team behind the service is now working to combine advertising, social, analytics, and other modules to provide users with a truly comprehensive, pan-entertainment system that serve all their needs.
The project is designed by Mob Arts, a technical team that has created a revolutionary game called House of Heroes. It is the first third party developed mobile game that was launched on all Tencent platforms, such as Myapp, Mobile QQ, and Wechat in China. The game has already been downloaded 50 million times, while its monthly income reached more than 20 million dollars.
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By Jack Spade August 23rd, 2021
Guest Posts Can Blockchain Games Compete with Traditional Video Games?
No longer are the days when blockchain is only associated with Bitcoin, now the blockchain technology has given ways to new creations, from NFTs to blockchain games. Some people seem to believe it's going to revolutionize the gaming industry, but let's take a closer look at blockchain games to see if their potential can live up to the hype.
By Kseniia Klichova December 2nd, 2020
Press Release ILCOIN Launches Industry First Blockchain VR Game on Steam
ILCOIN has coordinated with SYDYG to develop the first ever Blockchain VR gaming experience, called Age of ILCOIN. The game went live on Steam on the 2nd of November, 2020.
By Daria Rud September 30th, 2020
Business News, Editor's Choice, News, Social Media, Technology News David Guetta Partners with Social VR Platform Sensorium Galaxy
According to Sensorium Galaxy, all Guetta's performances will be hosted at the PRISM world. This a hub for music events developed in partnership with Yann Pissenem, CEO and Founder of The Night League as well as creator of the world-leading nightclubs Hï Ibiza and Ushuaïa Ibiza.
Mar 17th, 2022 — Mar 18th, 2022
Blockchain Africa Conference 2022
Aug 11th, 2022 — Aug 13th, 2022
The 12th Asia Pacific Floor Fair
Guangzhou, People's Republic of China
Jul 29th, 2022 — Jul 31st, 2022
NFT Expoverse
Jun 10th, 2022 — Jun 12th, 2022
Consensus 2022


As human civilization devises ever more powerful machines, living among them may become more and more difficult. People find themselves surrounded by incidentally created sounds and noises which are out of synch with their momentary needs. In order to avoid discordant noises they tend to use music reproducing devices with sound canceling headphones, isolating themselves from noise but also from each other. Does this mean that the 'i' in Apple's "iPod" stands for isolation? Three decades ago the sociologist Edward Hall introduced the concept of the 'space bubble' or the culturally conditioned distance that dictates how close we stand to another person and how much space we need around us to feel comfortable. The eighties Walkman has introduced another kind of bubble: a technological one of concentration and obliviousness to surroundings, a private space in public. This is the assumption behind Noah Vawter's final thesis at the MIT, a project called Ambient Addiction which tries to find a compromise between isolation and noise, integrating environmental sound into a personal soundscape. Consisting of a pair of headphones with small, embedded microphones, and a pocket-sized digital signal processing (DSP) system, it continuously records, analyzes, transforms and plays back environmental noise into more musical form. As Noah wrote in is thesis "Through its outward appearance and sonic-bridging capabilities, Ambient Addition reduces isolation". In this new context, in fact, some surprising behaviors take place. Listeners tend to play with objects around them, sing to themselves, and wander toward tempting sound sources in order to direct their own random soundscape in a proper environmental immersion. Is this the future of Ambient Music?


After decades of standstill in nuclear disarmament diplomacy, at the last United Nations General Assembly a majority of states has voted to start negotiations in 2017 for a ban on nuclear weapons. Based on the work of the "Open-ended Working Group" in Geneva in 2016, these negotiations will elaborate concrete elements for a nuclear ban treaty in March, June, and July in 2017 in New York.
Austria has been a significant driver in this process as part of the Humanitarian Initiative for nuclear disarmament, which over the years – with three international conferences, and lately the UNGA Resolution – has yielded the support of a majority of states. Two-thirds of member states have now voted in favour of starting negotiations on a ban. The most fervent opponents to the negotiations continue to be the western nuclear weapon states as well as the states under the nuclear umbrella.
Given the beginning of the negotiations in New York as well as the meeting of the Preparatory Committee for the 2020 Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Cycle in Vienna next year – nuclear weapons will be one of the major topics in international politics in 2017.


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S.F. schools renaming fight isn't over. Plaintiffs demand lawsuit not be called 'frivolous'
April 16, 2021 Updated: April 16, 2021 7:37 p.m.
Abraham Lincoln High School in San Francisco. A lawyer representing plaintiffs in a lawsuit that prompted the school board to reverse its decision to rename schools is calling on the district to remove language in its resolution that calls the lawsuit "frivolous."
Santiago Mejia / The ChronicleShow MoreShow Less
Washington High School in San Francisco is among those that would have been renamed until a lawsuit led the school board to reverse course.
Michael Short / Special to The Chronicle 2019Show MoreShow Less
The fight over the San Francisco school district's effort to rename 44 schools isn't over yet even though the school board has reversed course.
A lawyer representing plaintiffs in a lawsuit that prompted the board's reversal is calling on the district to amend that resolution to remove language deeming the lawsuit "frivolous."
In a letter to the school board's attorney on Friday, attorney Paul Scott also asks the board to make out checks for $1,000 to each of six nonprofits that acted as petitioners in the case. In exchange, he said, the plaintiffs will dismiss the lawsuit and not seek any further legal fees.
The district did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The school board's April resolution called the lawsuit "nothing more than a transparent attempt to thwart a lawful and duly-noticed action with which it disagrees," and continued to say that the board "wishes to avoid the distraction and wasteful expenditure of public funds in frivolous litigation."
It was passed largely in reaction to the litigation, which alleged that the board violated the Brown Act, the state's open meetings law, because the public agenda item said only that the board would decide on a list of potential schools to be renamed. A San Francisco superior court judge ruled in March that the district had to either rescind the vote, or show why it shouldn't have to.
S.F. Schools
S.F. school board reverses decision to rename 44 schools, citing 'frivolous litigation'
S.F. school board pledges to reopen schools to all students for full days in the fall
In a letter to the board's attorney, Scott wrote that his firm has incurred 200 hours in fees and other costs. While the board's resolution technically complies with the judge's order, Scott said, it has "still failed to take genuine responsibility for its own missteps, which is unbecoming of a governmental body, sets a bad example for our City's schoolchildren, and is wasteful of taxpayer resources."
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If the school board does not amend the April reversal and pay the nonprofit organizations in the case, including five alumni organizations and the San Francisco Taxpayers Association, the law firm will "simply proceed in the normal course to collect our fees and costs as permitted by statute."
Board members have said they intend to revisit the initiative after schools have fully reopened, probably in the fall. The board had already suspended work on the renaming initiative in February to focus on school reopening. While some parents and students celebrated the initial vote, saying it was hurtful to wear the names of racists on school sweatshirts, others decried the decision for failing to consult experts and lacking historical accuracy.
In a statement following the vote, board President Gabriela López acknowledged mistakes were made, and promised a "more deliberative process moving forward, which includes engaging historians at nearby universities to help" with future discussions.
Emma Talley is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: emma.talley@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @emmat332
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Emma Talley is a reporting intern for The Chronicle's metro team. She is a current undergraduate at Stanford University, where she studies communications and art, and writes for her campus newspaper. She is originally from Sacramento, California.


Even at the start of its first season, the FX series Archer had a clear, well-defined identity and an irreverent sensibility, but it was over the thirteen episodes of the second season that the animated show became one of the very best and funniest series on television, animated or not. Created by Adam Reed, Archer takes place in the familiar world of espionage, following the unabashedly selfish, vain, libidinous, and inconsiderate staff of the International Secret Intelligence Serice (ISIS).
A talented voice cast that includes Aisha Tyler, Jessica Walter, Chris Parnell, Judy Greer, Amber Nash, and Reed himself all do superb work as the ISIS crew, but the honor of voicing the title character, Agent Sterling Archer (codenamed Duchess) falls to H. Jon Benjamin. You might just recognize Benjamin from his Comedy Central series Jon Benjamin Has a Van or his appearances on Human Giant, Important Things With Demetri Martin, or Parks and Recreation. While some folks might not be able to immediately identify him by his face, odds are they'd know his voice. Benjamin's deadpan delivery has been featured prominently on many an animated series, from Adult Swim fare like Home Movies, Venture Bros., and Aqua Teen Hunger Force to Fox shows Bob's Burgers and Family Guy.
With the third season of Archer set to premiere tonight, January 19th, at 10:00 pm on FX, Benjamin engaged in a conference call with entertainment journalists from all over the place. Throughout, Benjamin maintained his unique sense of humor, practically declaring his intent by mocking the moderator during his introduction. Read on for the interview in which H. Jon Benjamin discussed the series, his relationship with Sterling Archer, obscure allusions, wearing black turtlenecks, and the perils of pretending to cry.
How do you balance all these projects and how do you differentiate, especially when you're doing Archer and Bob's Burgers, how different is it for you?
H. Jon Benjamin: Well, it's a constant—tons of protein shakes and a very regimented workout schedule that keeps me energized. And the rest I just leave to my rabbi and my group of people who I consult with.
You've been the voicing Sterling Archer for quite awhile now, and I just wanted to ask what's your favorite thing about voicing the character? What do you like best about him?
Benjamin: I like the way he looks. He's handsome. That's a big advantage. I'm not so handsome, and I like all the stuff I get to say, obviously. I like being rude, and it gives me a good opportunity to do that.
We just wanted go back to the beginning and find out how you got your part on Archer.
Benjamin: It's not a great story. Adam Reed, the creator of Archer, God rest his soul [he's kidding, Reed is very much alive], he called me—I think he had heard me do some other work on Adult Swim Shows, and he called me to read the part. I don't know if other people had been asked. I don't know if I was first choice or like literally last resort—probably last resort, right? Right? So, yes, and then I accepted and then it worked out well. But I was tentative because I didn't think I could pull off a spy. If you knew me, you'd know all the reasons why.
How did the Burt Reynolds thing come about?
Benjamin: Which Burt Reynolds thing?
Benjamin: Wait, he was in it?
Yeah, unless I had a dream about that.
I know with Bob's Burgers that you said that there is a fair amount of ad libbing. How much of Archer do you get to do any adlibbing with?
Benjamin: Very little. There is not a lot of room. The scripts are tightly written and he encourages sometimes on occasion, he'll be like do you want to add anything, and I'll say no. So it's not the same kind of production as Bob's Burgers, which is a lot improvising all the time, but the scripts don't really require it.
For Archer, it's not really that apparent, but there's a lot of yelling involved, which must get tiring at some point. So has there ever been a point where you want a few scripts which just has Archer whispering and not talking at all?
Benjamin: I would love to in parentheses …. Just once. It is, and I have to say, like I recently, whenever I finish—it's not grueling or anything, but my vocal cords don't recover for like a day after an Archer session. So they owe me. And it's not like I'm at war, but it's hard on the throat. But, yes, I would like to do … someday.
One of my favorite things about Archer are those hidden references like to "Bartleby the Scrivener" or "Lord of the Rings," things of that nature. But some of them are pretty obscure like I have to bring up my computer and Google things while I'm watching.
Benjamin: Yes. I occasionally do as well.
Benjamin: Yes. There's like a 50/50 ratio of me knowing and me not, but I'm always getting questions about that, and occasionally I don't have the answer. I forgot to check. Fortunately, I've read some Melville, so that's good, and some …, so I knew a couple, but there is some stuff like the guy who invented or who started eugenics—I didn't know that was him. So I'll oftentimes be asked, and the first season I always got the question about Jonny Bench or … that was said, which I did not know about him, or why—a lot of people asked me "Why did you say that?" Nobody knew, but it's a relatively educational show.
That constant running gag on the show is Archer is continually deprived of being happy and his happiness. Do you think that Archer will finally get his happiness and what will that look like?
Benjamin: Well, I don't think it would behoove the show for him to be happy, so I assume that will be avoided. I think, by nature, he's like a troubled character, so I don't think he'll ever be happy, but I got asked this recently, and I think my stock answer was that if his mother died, I'm not sure he'd be happy, but it would change everything for him and maybe he'd be happy. So there is some, but I just think that his mother created a lot of problems.
Besides Archer's strong jaw line and dashing good looks, what other qualities do you feel you share with your character?
Benjamin: Besides those. Well, obviously, personality wise, I can be a little shrilly, and that comes from the way I look and just having to go out in public is a struggle. So, yes, I think that my tension for anger and my general attitude—poor attitude—and failure to recognize authority and my sense of entitlement in my life and being American and white and rich, those things I share. And I drink a lot in real life.
How many situations have you found yourself in since Archer or any of your other prominent voice work where you're in just some random spot and you get really weird stares become people recognize your voice?
Benjamin: It happens all the time in the steam room where I do most of my talking. It happens, actually, very rarely, obviously, because nobody cares. But, on a few occasions, I've been recognized for my voice, and it's just kind of hard—you have to be really keyed into that. Like there has been an occasion where like I'm ordering a tea at the coffee shop and the person behind the counter will get excited like, "Oh my, 'Archer's' voice is ordering a green tea." But, that being said, very rarely happens.
So, now if you could tell Adam Reed anything as far as your hopes for your character, like if you could say, "Gee, Adam, I'd like to have my character to x—Archer do—" what would it be and why?
Benjamin: That's a tough question. There is so much, obviously, like spy world stuff to explore and I'm sure he hasn't gotten to all the possibilities yet. I guess I would want him to sing more, maybe. Maybe start a band, like a really bad blues band or something. You know like Jim Belushi style.
Why do you think that adults now are being attracted to prime time animated shows like The Simpsons, The Cleveland Show, and your show. Why do you think people are accepting it now?
Benjamin: Well, I don't think it's specifically been begging for acceptance. There have been tons of animated shows geared toward adults, I guess, in the last 20 years or something hasn't there? I don't know. I don't think it's any more part of the cultural fabric. I mean maybe because of the success of shows like South Park and The Simpsons, for sure, probably did start a reason to copy that formula because they were so unique. Then I guess because it was a very niche world before that. Not the whole world but adults who would read graphic novels or something like that. So in that world, I think it was pretty common and so it just sort of spun off. Now everybody. So I don't know what I just said, but I think you're right.
In the first season of Archer, the character was controlled by a microchip. The second, you had cancer. For 2.5 he kind of loses everything or he abandons everything and becomes a pirate, so is it just going to get crazier from this point on?
Benjamin: I think it does get crazier—not crazier, but there are definitely moments of pure craziness, as there always is, I guess, in the show. But I think, he returns back to his regular life, so he doesn't go off the rails completely. The show gets back to what it did in the second season which is focus on all the characters who work for the spy agency and stuff like that. So he doesn't have any more like crazy flights of—but they go to space. They get to go to space, but I think that was part of the mission, so it's not like he was just like I'm going to go to space and take off.
Does Archer have any unfinished business with Barry Dillon, the guy who killed his wife?
Benjamin: Yes. Somebody actually asked earlier if, like who I'd want to see as a villain, and I think I'd want to see that character—he's sort of the most prominent nemesis to Archer, but I, as well as the baby, I don't think that character comes back as much after, but I'm not certain. I don't remember, and I am sorry. I don't think he comes back, but that character's really funny and bionic.
We're also wondering with Archer's wardrobe preferences, I'm curious, how do you look in a black turtleneck?
Benjamin: It's been awhile since my Bar Mitzvah. So, I'm in…used to be when I was 13. I can't imagine I would look good. I don't think anybody does. Archer does look good and maybe Sammy Davis Jr. looked good and a few more—Bert Convy, but I think nowadays it's probably a huge fashion faux pas to be walking around like that, unless you like work at a club called Turtlenecks.
Do you just prefer doing the voice work or if you plan on branching more into live acting?
Benjamin: Well, we are waiting to hear if this Comedy Central show that I did [Jon Benjamin Has a Van] is going to get a second season. I hope that it does. I liked doing it a lot. But, you know, voice work right now is predominantly what I do. But it took a year to make that show, and it was a lot of work, but I enjoyed it,so I would probably like to do more stuff on camera, but with this, it doesn't bode well.
Now the show does a lot of story arcs and then it does a lot of one-off episodes. Which do you prefer in terms of the story? Do you like singled-off stories or an overall arc going on?
Benjamin: I think it's very successful when they try and do more longer arcs, but I don't necessarily think it's a detriment when they don't. The television I watch is probably more story—more narratives. But I don't know—Adam Reed is so good at crafting narrative threads that run throughout everything that like it's kind of always a combination of one-offs and I guess it's like any sort of really good sitcom where you start to love all the characters. He does such a good job keeping it vibrant. I'm sorry I said that—keeping it vibrant. I never wanted to use that. I never wanted to say those three words, but I think like when Archer got cancer and this sort of first of three-parter—those were really fun to do.
What was it like to have a little more of those serious moments like when Archer got cancer and when his wife was murdered. Was it a bit more challenging or was it something you were waiting for?
Benjamin: Well, it's always sort of difficult to—I don't know—I can't discern anything about acting when you're doing—there's acting when you're doing voice overs, but it was definitely strange to do that. It's always odd when you have to like cry or something—like for real, when he was like, whatever—your woman dies or something and you're crying. Like I'd always be was that terrible? It's not like a movie, I guess, where everybody's standing around and people are watching and you really got to do it. There's something odd—very false about just standing in front of a microphone. So hopefully the cries are believable. I actually cry. I actually cried a couple of times.
Catch Archer's third season premiere tonight on FX at 10:00.


In a guest post for Forbes, Skip Fleshman lays out the case that the future of telemedicine starts now. Calling telemedicine "the biggest trend in digital health in 2015", he goes on to list the beneficial factors of the present market that will cause the boom in telehealth.
First and foremost, the abundance of technology in today's world will make telemedicine infinitely more accessible. With the increase in faster, more reliable internet connections, online consultations are much smoother than they previously were. This along with mobile devices and tablets becoming pervasive, the level of convenience for patients is rising quickly.
The second reason supporting the incoming growth is the consumer demand to use this new technology for healthcare. The growing number of patients using retail pharmacies for routine visits can be logically extrapolated to patients using their devices for the same purpose.
Lastly, the switch towards telemedicine will not only save money on all fronts but also "increase the value of a doctor's time." By allowing patients who do not need immediate attention the ability to interact with their doctors outside of the physical office, it leaves more time and easier access for those patients who do need to meet face-to-face.


There was no shortage of movers and shakers at the Sugar Club last night for the annual Hot Press bash.
The Dublin mag threw a raucous party to unveil their yearly Who's Who list of everyone worth knowing in the music and entertainment business.
And there was plenty of scrambling among nervous attendees to have a peak at the mag's new Yearbook to check out who had made the list -- and more importantly, who was left off it.
Things kicked off with a complimentary Jameson and canape reception before editor Niall Stokes took to the stage to welcome everyone.
Shortly afterwards, the live entertainment kicked off, with performances from Jerry Fish and the Mudbug Club, Villagers and the Mighty Stef.
Among those spotted mingling in the packed club were former Channel 6 beauty Michelle Doherty, PR pretty Sonia Reynolds and 98's Siobhan O'Connor, who was there with hubbie Paul.
Meanwhile, sci-fi fans were out in force down at the Savoy cinema for the red-carpet premiere of Transformers -- Revenge of the Fallen.
The blockbuster received its first Irish showing at the bash at the Savoy ahead of its nationwide release.


Error adding MasterDeail Page "The namespace 'SampleMasterPage' already contains a definition for 'MasterPage' " in Xamarin Forms – How to Fix it ?
When adding a "Master Detail" Page to the PCL(Portable Class Library) in Xamarin Forms, It gives an error which says the MasterPage is already exists in the same namespace. And also we can see few compilation errors too.
Then I tried to find the reason for the error and I found the reason for the error is the XML Namespace declared in the XAML(UI) file is not equal to the namespace of the code behind class of the XAML(UI) file.
So How to Fix it ?
To fix the error, we have to change the namespace in the code behind class of the XML file same as the XML namespace declaration in the XAML file.
Here are the Steps to Fix the Error..
The "ProductMasterPage" is the Page which contains the Side menu and the Main Content. You can see in the below image, "ProductMasterPageMaster" and "ProductMasterPageDetail" has referenced in ProductMasterPage. The ProductMasterPageMenuItem class is a Model using to declare Side menu items.
When trying to rebuild the project, the app will not compile successfully and we will see some errors..
The you can see the namespace of these classes as "SampleMasterPage.ProductMasterPage" and it is not the names[ace and assembly name declared in XAML namespace definition.
5. So to fix the error , what we have to do is change the namespace in these class to the same namespace which is declared in the XAML namespace definition.
When you change the namespace, you can see some errors will be disappear..
6. The rebuild again the android project..
And you will see another error says..
"ProductMasterPageMenuItems" is the List of <ProductMasterPageMenuItem>. which is a Observable Collection.
7. So we have to change the "ProductMasterPageMenuItems" to "MenuItems".
8. Then Re-build the project and it will be compile successfully.


text:
Net neutrality or zero rating? Tomorrow's EU vote will decide
Monica Horten
Tomorrow a crucial vote in the European Parliament will decide whether Europe supports the principle of net neutrality. A proposal will be put before the Parliament that is headed 'open internet access' and will be touted as protecting net neutrality. However, it is highly contoversial, because it threatens to open the door to zero-rating of content. Amendments have been tabled that would protect net neutrality and their acceptance could be crucial for the future of the Internet.
The Parliament has the choice to doff its cap to the Council of ministers or to stand up for itself as a democratic institution and support its own position.
The vote takes place in the plenary of the European Parliament tomorrow at 1pm Brussels time. This is the report of the Spanish MEP and rapporteur Pilar DelCastillo.
Mrs Del Castillo is putting forward the Council's text and asking the European Parliament to agree to it. Both politically and substantively, this is problematic.
Politically, this proposal has been drafted the Council of Ministers, based on an inter-governmental agreement. It is based on a premise of traffic management and not on a principle net neutrality.
This proposal would overturn the European Parliament position, as adopted in March 2014, that incorporated specific provisions for a net neutrality principle. Whereas the Parliament would have enshined net neutrality as the guiding principle for all Internet traffic, the Council merely seeks to regulate the use of traffic management.
The rapporteur has agreed to the proposal during trilogue meetings ( Council, Parliament and Commission) which were held behind closed doors. The substance of these discussions is not publicly known. However, the outcome clearly illustrates that she failed to stand up for the Parliament's position. This is not good for a Parliament that wants to be regarded as a strong democratic institution.
Substantively, the Council's proposal is ambiguous. It does indeed prohibit the blocking of content, and it would seem to also prohibit the paid prioritisation of content. However, its position on zero rating is not clear, and there are different interpretations. Zero-rating is where preferred content is not counted within the limits of a bandwidth cap. In practice, it also means that the network operator increases the price for non-zerorated content by several multiples. For this reason, it will de facto result in content restrictions for users – which will also breach the rights of publishers, bloggers, innovators and e-commerce services as well as the rights of the subscribers to a network.
One interpretation is that zero rating would be permitted, on the basis that it is not prohibited.
Another interpretation on zero rating is that the Council chose not to address zero rating because it could not reach a political agreement. This is a very good reason why the Parliament should hold its ground, because in accepting this proposal, it is accepting political direction from the Council.
On the other hand, industry is annoyed that the proposal does not allow traffic management which is 'based on commercial considerations'. This just adds to the ambiguity of the whole proposal, but I do wonder if it could be interpreted that operators would not be allowed to zero rate since that would be 'commercial consideration'.
The biggest problem with the Council/Del Castillo proposal is that it fails to express the principle of net neutrality. It merely regulates traffic management, and in failing to state the principle, it will make regulation complex and messy.
MEPs will be offered the option to vote in amendments enshrining the principle of net neutrality. There are Amendments 8=19, and 9-20. On the voting list they are Article 2, § 2, after point 1 and Article 2, § 2, after point 2.
(1a) "net neutrality" means the principle according to which all internet traffic is treated equally, without discrimination, restriction or interference, independently of its sender, recipient, type, content, device, service or application;
(2) 'internet access service' means a publicly available electronic communications service that provides access to the internet in accordance to the principle of net neutrality, and thereby connectivity to virtually all end points of the internet, irrespective of the network technology and terminal equipment used.
MEPs have choice. To allow zero rating by default of an inter-governmental agreement or to enshrine a principle for Europe.
Save the Internet.eu
More analysis at EDRi
If you like this article then you might like myforthcoming new book The Closing of the Net - click here for more info.
You may also like my current books The Copyright Enforcement Enigma: Internet politics and the Telecoms Package ( discussion of the 2009 Telecoms Package and copyright) and A Copyright Masquerade: How Corporate Lobbying Threatens Online Freedoms on copyright industry lobbying.
This is an original article from Iptegrity.com and reflects research that I have carried out. If you refer to it or to its content, please cite my name as the author, and provide a link back to iptegrity.com. Media and Academics – please cite as Monica Horten, 2015, Net neutrality or zero rating? Tomorrow's EU vote will decide in Iptegrity.com, 27 October 2015 . Commercial users - please contact me.