I have officially become a political activist. Well sort of. I've started a letter writing campaign to all my elected officials from local to national. I plan on writing every week until I get a response. What has lit a fire under me?
Balloons. Not necessarily balloons in and of themselves, but the popular practice of balloon releases. I understand that the majority of these releases are done to 'honor' the memory of a loved one who has passed away. I totally understand the desire and need to honor those we have lost, however this particular practice spreads death to animals and destruction of our environment which is not honorable to anyone's memory. Does anyone honestly think that this is something of which their loved one would support?
Or how about the fate of this poor creature who died from intestinal obstruction due to balloon fragments that when floating in the water mimic a food source – jellyfish.
I realize that I am writing from the Mid West about as far away from an ocean as you can get, but that doesn't mean that local animals are not affected and not just from ingesting balloon remnants or becoming entangled in the strings, but just the very presence of something not natural to their environment can cause death.
I'm not trying to be a curmudgeon about events that honor those who have died, but why does the only option have to be so brutal to innocent and unsuspecting creatures? Why not plant a tree or bush? Why not create a group art piece that can be displayed? Why not organize a food drive? Why not volunteer to clean up litter in a park or area of town? There are so many other ways to show how much that person meant without doing something so destructive.
I want to believe that many are done out of ignorance of the issues the releases create, hence why I am writing an entire post about this issue. Get the word out! Stop this before it happens. This is such an easy fix that could have a big impact on animals around the globe.
To be clear I am not saying balloons are evil. They make events festive and make lots of people smile, but they must be disposed of in a responsible manner, NOT released into the air to land and cause destruction elsewhere.
If you would like to join in a letter writing campaign feel free to use the following template to send to your representatives.
I am writing to you to bring awareness to the issue of the damage that balloon releases cause to our environment. I understand this is not the most pressing issue to come across your desk, however it is important because anything that negatively affects our planet is important.
The purpose of most balloon releases is to honor a person who has passed away. The sentiment is beautiful, but the direct consequences are not.
I INCLUDED PICTURES FEATURED IN THIS POST HERE.
I ask you to consider proposing legislation to ban balloon releases. This could be a great opportunity for both sides of the aisle to come together for a common goal – protecting our environment and the animals that inhabit it.


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Study Suggests Majority of OEF/OIF Veterans Interested in Interventions/Information to Help with Community Readjustment
An estimated 40% of OEF/OIF combat Veterans who used VA medical services perceived some to extreme overall difficulty readjusting to civilian life within the past 30 days.
Between 25% and 56% of the participants had some to extreme difficulty in specific areas related to social functioning, productivity, community involvement, and self-care. For example, 31% reported more alcohol and drug use, and 57% reported more anger control problems since returning from Iraq or Afghanistan.
Almost all Veterans (96%) expressed interest in services to help them readjust to civilian life.
Veterans with probable PTSD (n=291) reported more reintegration problems and expressed interest in more kinds of services for these problems than did Veterans without probable PTSD (n=463).
The most commonly preferred ways to receive reintegration services or information were at a VA facility, through the mail, and via the Internet. Almost all OEF/OIF Veterans in this study had access to the Internet and used it regularly.
Research suggests a rise in the rate of psychiatric problems among U.S. service members and Veterans as the time since deployment increases, and reports of increased marital and occupational difficulties after military service in Iraq and Afghanistan provide further evidence of post-deployment reintegration problems. Research on post-deployment problems among OEF/OIF Veterans is needed to inform the development and resourcing of health services. This study sought to describe the prevalence and types of community reintegration problems among OEF/OIF combat Veterans who had made at least one visit to a VA healthcare facility between October 2003 and July 2007– and to identify their interest in interventions or information to facilitate community readjustment. Using survey and VA administrative data, investigators also explored the association between probable PTSD, reintegration problems, and treatment interests. The survey was mailed and completed between 4/08 and 7/08 by a national, random sample of 754 OEF/OIF combat Veterans.
Investigators speculate that combat Veterans using VA healthcare may carry a greater burden of illness than non-combatants and those Veterans who do not use VA healthcare services.
This study used a questionnaire screening measure to identify probable PTSD rather than gold standard diagnostic interviews.
This study was funded by HSR&D (RRP 07-315). Dr. Sayer leads VA/HSR&D's Polytrauma and Blast-Related Injuries Quality Enhancement Research Initiative (PT/BRI-QUERI).
Sayer N, Noorbaloochi S, Frazier P, et al. Reintegration Problems and Treatment Interests among Iraq and Afghanistan Combat Veterans Receiving VA Medical Care. Psychiatric Services June 2010;61(6):589-97.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Fidelity Bank, Access Bank, GTBank, First City Monument Bank fined N1.4bn for forex infractions, others
Top banks in Nigeria paid a total of N1.4bn as penalties to financial regulatory bodies such as the Central Bank of Nigeria, Security Exchange Council and Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria, in the first half of the year.
The banks are Fidelity Bank, Access Bank, GTBank and First City Monument Bank.
This figure was arrived at from analysis of the H1 2021 financial statements of the banks obtained from their websites.
Findings show that the penalties were as a result of contraventions and infractions of guidelines instituted by the Federal Government through the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act, relevant CBN circulars, and other regulatory requirements.
The BOFIA Act is a regulatory framework that was introduced to guide the financial industry. The Act which was first enacted in 1997 empowers the CBN to implement its provisions.
The president, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), had in November 2020, signed the amended BOFIA Act 2020 which repealed the erstwhile BOFIA 2004.
In the period under review, GTB paid a total sum of N692m as penalties to regulators for two major infractions bordering on foreign exchange transactions carried out by Betting and Gaming Companies (N690m) and non-refund of interest on debit of non-interest related charges to non-funded accounts (N2m).
For forex trade infractions and other forex infractions, risk based supervision between 2018 and 2019 and late returns, Fidelity bank paid the sum of N64.1m to the CBN during the period under review.
SEC also sanctioned the bank within the review period to the tune of N1.1m for late filling of its December 31 2020 Audited Financial Statement.
The total sum paid for infractions by Fidelity bank is H1 2021 was N349.3m lower than the aggregate sum of N414.5m paid as penalties in H1 2020.
According to the financial reports, Access Bank was fined N184.5m by the CBN while SEC fined the bank N1m during the review period.
The violations committed by the bank include, "contravening the Central Bank's Foreign Exchange Regulations from January 1, 2013 to July 31, 2020, contravention of rule for receiving bank, a shareholder's complaint on dividend, CBN's Consumer Protection report for the period of Jul 2020- Dec 2020, failure to comply with the CBN's money laundering/combating the financing of terrorism regulations and Know Your Customer policies in respect of a customer's account and failure to comply with Guidelines on Diaspora remittances."
UBA incurred regulatory sanctions of N278m in H1 2021, N287m lower than the sum of N565m incurred in H1 2020.
Meanwhile, FCMB Group's penalties rose from N150.2m paid to regulatory bodies in H1 2020 to N162.3m in H1 2021.
Posted by MAN ABOUT TOWN at 3:04 AM
Labels: access bank, FidelityBank, fined, FirstCityMonumentBank, forex, gtbank, infractions
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Home » Picks » NFL 2022 Kickoff – Bills vs Rams Betting Odds & Prediction
NFL 2022 Kickoff – Bills vs Rams Betting Odds & Prediction
Joseph Falchetti
The NFL 2022 kickoff is around the corner, and we are here to tell you how to bet on the first game of the season.
We'll have the kickoff game Thursday evening in Los Angeles, when the defending Super Bowl Champions, LA Rams, clash against the Buffalo Bills in a tasty opening game.
The game kicks off the 2022 season and will be held on September 8, 2022, at the SoFi Stadium. It airs on NBC.
Below you fill a breakdown of the game, including the latest Bills vs. Rams betting odds and predictions.
Where To Bet On The NFL Kickoff Game
Buffalo Bills vs. Los Angeles Rams Odds
-135 Moneyline +115
-2.5 (-110) Spread +2.5 (-110)
Bet On Bills vs Rams At BetUS
When the betting line for this game opened back in May, the Rams opened as a 1-point favorite. It's been a while since then.
Now the Bills are 2.5-point favorites going into Los Angeles to challenge the current Super Bowl champs.
If you plan to bet on Buffalo, it's better to do it now. Many are jumping on the Bills' hype train as they are the odds-on favorites to win the Super Bowl, listed at +650 at BetUS Sportsbook.
The game total is currently sitting at 52 points with a standard price of -110 on either the over or under. Unlike the spread, the total hasn't moved since it opened.
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2022 NFL Kickoff Betting Preview
Buffalo Bills – Jump on the Bills Hype Train
As mentioned above, the Bills are the clear favorites to win Super Bowl 57. No one's surprised, considering how loaded they are on both sides of the ball.
Buffalo's loss to Kansas City last season in the divisional playoffs round was heartbreaking. Yet, Buffalo made some moves in the offseason to be even better in 2022.
The Bills added ex-Rams OLB and two-time Super Bowl champ Von Miller to the defensive lineup.
Miller has experience in big games and is ready to take his new team to the next level. His addition complements a Bills defense ranked first in total yards and points allowed in 2021.
A Roster Loaded With Talent
Buffalo added veteran guard Rodger Saffold on offense to solidify the o-line. The Bills' offense averaged 28.4 points per game in the 2021 regular season, but the expectation is they will be even better in 2022.
Buffalo averaged 44.5 points per game in two postseason games last season after the breakout showing of WR Gabriel Davis. In the divisional round, he scored 4 TDs in the epic match against Kansas City.
Of course, the Bills' offense starts and ends with QB Josh Allen. He's the odds-on favorite to win the 2022 MVP award, listed at +700.
Allen had 36 TDs and 15 INTs last season but took his game to the next level in the playoffs. He recorded 9 TDs and no interceptions against the Patriots and Chiefs.
Overall, it's easy to see why the Bills are favorites to win the Super Bowl and why they open as favorites on the road to beat the Super Bowl champs. The team is loaded with talent from top to bottom.
Bet Now On The Bills
LA Rams – Disrespected Super Bowl Champs
To find a Super Bowl champ listed as an underdog in the opening game of a season, we must go back to 2013.
The champions back then, the Baltimore Ravens, were a 7.5-point underdog against the Denver Broncos.
The curious part about that game is that the Broncos played at home because the Baltimore Orioles played at home that night. And since both stadiums in Baltimore are next to each other, there wasn't enough room for everybody.
But this is the first in nearly a decade where the defending Super Bowl champions open the season as underdogs.
Current State Of The LA Rams
Besides the Bills' unreal hype, the Rams lost some key pieces from the Super Bowl team that won the Lombardi trophy just five months ago. And that's the main reason they are dogs in this fight.
The Rams saw Von Miller leave in free agency to play in Buffalo. They didn't re-sign WR Odell Beckham Jr. after he suffered a knee injury in the Super Bowl, and LT Andrew Whitworth retired.
Those are three massive contributors that are no longer with the team. But not all is bad news for the Rams.
The team signed Seahawks legend Bobby Wagner to play in the middle of the defense and replaced OBJ with WR Allen Robinson. The ex-Bears WR expects to make a massive jump on his game with Matthew Stafford under center.
And all in all, they still have the best player of the 2021 season. The triple-crown winner WR Cooper Kupp still is uncoverable in any situation.
Kupp was the Rams' MVP all season, including the Super Bowl, where he showed how unstoppable his routes are.
Bet Now On The Rams
Buffalo Bills vs. LA Rams Betting Prediction
Against any other opponent, I would say it's disrespectful to have the Rams as home underdogs to open the season, but not against the Bills.
Buffalo has put together a roster where it's Super Bowl or bust at the end of the season. There is nothing in between.
Also, how the 2021 season ended for the Bills tells me this team is eager to get back on the field and compete.
On the other side, there is no real pressure on the Rams. Los Angeles just won a Super Bowl, and while they will try to win this game, it won't be a big deal if they don't.
What Are We Taking Into Account?
The Bills are the ones with all the hype and expectations. They are the ones who need to deliver on opening night, and that's why they are the play here.
Buffalo should cover the spread by winning at least by a field goal. Their offense has too many tools to think the Rams' defense can cover all.
Also, a report from training camp mentioned QB Matthew Stafford is dealing with an elbow injury.
The Rams are trying to downplay the news, but you don't want to go toe to toe with Josh Allen with your QB at a less than 100% capacity.
Bet the Bills to win and cover the -2.5.
2022 NFL Kickoff Betting Picks
Bet The Bills To Win At -135
Bet Buffalo Bills -2.5 (-110)
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Joseph Falchetti - Editor-in-Chief / Sports Writer & Analyst
Joe is the author of the blog, most picks, and the majority of excellent sports and casino content on SafestBettingSites. He's been mentioned on Forbes.com as a gaming analyst, and his articles have been linked by larger publications, such as the New York Times.
joe@safestbettingsites.com
Joseph Falchetti Bio
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Alonzo Solano | September 9, 2022


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0 October 18, 2001 Open Democracy
The life and death of Railtrack
The British government has dismayed private investors by seizing control of the company set up in 1996 to own Britain's railway tracks and property. Can the proposed hybrid model of a non-profit making private company open up a genuine 'third way' beyond state control and the market?
Something is changing. Not only is America waking up to the need for government (as Bob Borosage reports in this issue) Britain's New Labour government is too. When Tony Blair launched the 'Third Way' after he was elected in 1997, it generated serious discussion across Europe where the need to modernise social democracy connected to relatively successful state-run sectors of the economy. In the UK, the notion was seen as mainly spin. Not without justification. Blair's first administration did not pursue an alternative to ineffective state control and unbalanced market rule. Instead, it cut back government expenditure and appeared to be a variety of Thatcherism with a human face.
Now, through force of circumstance rather than design, something which could genuinely be described as 'Third Way' has arrived on the back of catastrophic market failure.
British railways were privatised in the mid-1990s by the Conservative government of John Major. Over the weekend of October 6-7, Railtrack, the company which owns the infrastructure, though it does not run the actual trains, went bankrupt as the Transport Secretary, Stephen Byers, decided that he could no longer continue to subsidise it. Instead, he declared that a not-for-profit company should be established to do the job – and a new way to run the railroads may be the result.
He announced that he was forcing the company into administration to be run, temporarily, by Ernst & Young. After a period of administration, the aim would be to transform Railtrack into a private company limited by guarantee, with no shareholders and a membership drawn from all parts of the rail industry – ranging from train operators and rolling stock firms to trade unions and passenger groups. It looked like an audacious and ground-breaking move, even if the government had been forced into it by the precarious nature of the company's finances.
The costs of panic
Railtrack was floated on the Stock Exchange in a £2.5bn sale in 1996 and for several years made healthy profits, but it started haemorrhaging money as a result of the Hatfield train crash in October 2000. Hatfield exposed both the engineering and financial flaws of privatisation. The accident, which killed four people, was caused by a broken rail which derailed part of an electric train travelling at 115 miles per hour. The subsequent investigation revealed that cracks in the rail had first been spotted nearly two years previously and that a series of mistakes by Railtrack and its contractors, Balfour Beatty, resulted in such a lengthy delay to effect the repair that the rail finally broke a couple of weeks before its replacement was scheduled.
Railtrack, which had lost much of its engineering expertise following the privatisation, panicked. It embarked on a massive rerailing programme, much of it unnecessary, in order to ensure that no similar accidents occurred. In the meantime, it imposed hundreds of speed restrictions around the country which turned the railway timetable into a work of fiction and stopped the previously healthy growth in passenger usage. Under the complex performance regime the company had to pay out over £400m in compensation to operators and another £200m on the rerailing programme. As a result, this previously profitable company which at one time was creaming off £1m per day, plunged £534m into the red during the 2000/1 financial year.
If Hatfield had merely been an aberration, Railtrack might have survived. But there was another cancer eating away at the heart of the company which was to prove a mortal blow – its complete inability to control costs. Every project it undertook went way over budget. This was partly because the way it had been privatised meant it had no in-house engineering capacity nor, indeed, did it undertake any of its own research and development.
The project that was to prove fatal to Railtrack was the modernisation of the West Coast Main Line, Britain's most heavily used long-distance rail route which links London with Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Glasgow. Initially costed at around £2.4bn, when Railtrack was privatised, the cost seemed to go up in £500m chunks any time the project featured in a press release, and reached a staggering £7bn – possibly £8bn – by the time Railtrack was forced into administration. The West Coast project was only the most expensive of a series of similar schemes. Railtrack seemed to have lost all ability to keep a tight rein on costs.
The company realised that, with debts already at £3.3bn and rising rapidly, and its share price below the flotation price, drastic action was required. It commissioned a report from Credit Suisse First Boston which suggested three possible outcomes: restructuring, renationalisation, or receivership (effectively the same as administration). Railtrack's chairman John Robinson went cap in hand to the government with the report, but strongly recommended restructuring. The only problem was that this would have entailed ministers caving into Railtrack's demand for a £4bn bail out, which was in addition to the massive £15bn (most of it public money) it had been granted over five years by the regulator and an earlier £1.5bn bail out. Byers promised to go away and think about it over the summer.
A hybrid solution
Renationalisation, however, was also problematic. It not only went against the grain of New Labour's one little Big Idea at the 2001 election – greater involvement of the private sector in the public sector – but it would have put the railway's finances back on the government's balance sheet as part of the Public Sector Borrowing Requirement, something the Chancellor, Gordon Brown, was desperate to avoid. Moreover, Byers learnt that under European rules, shareholders bought out by the government might have been entitled to the average price of the past three years, something like £8, rather than the £3 around which they had hovered since the summer.
Therefore, receivership with the subsequent transformation of the company into a kind of non-profit making trust looked a canny option. It gave the government a measure of control of the company, albeit at arms length, without having to pay out the shareholders. It looked radical and groundbreaking, pleasing to Labour's heartlands – a deft solvent to the running sore of the railways.
So the thinking went. But the reality was different. Guess what? The shareholders noticed that they were going to lose all their money and were not best pleased. Nor was the City, which warned that any future funding for the railways – or indeed any other joint private/public schemes – could be jeopardised because the government had broken their trust.
Interestingly, commentators both from Left and Right criticised Byers' refusal to bail-out the shareholders. The Left wanted to see a clear renationalisation to give the state control, while right-wing City commentators argued that the shareholders had been cheated. Railtrack even had the gall to demand £3.60, close to the flotation price of £3.90, for its shareholders because … well, because they deserved it.
Their complaints are, so far, to no avail. A strange hybrid of a private company without shareholders is being created – in order that the railways stay off the government's balance sheet and can raise money that will not count as part of the Public Sector Borrowing Requirement but nevertheless work to aims set by ministers.
Stumbling towards Jerusalem?
The lessons of Railtrack's demise will be felt across Europe. In an effort to promote competition between different operators, the European Commission has been fostering both rail privatisation and the split between infrastructure provision and service operators. Britain took the model to extremes as it was the only country to privatise its infrastructure, but several European countries have been considering similar models. Now that Railtrack's collapse has shown the limits of both privatisation and fragmentation, a period of reflection on the future of the railways is called for.
Railtrack's failure also raises questions about the limits of privatisation. Monopolies, heavily dependent on subsidy and requiring massive investment programmes will now presumably be off-limits. Moreover, the cost of capital provided by private investors for public services is likely to rise, given that this episode has shown that the government will not always be a guarantor of last resort. The risk transfer which is at the heart of privatisation has been shown to be real, despite the intemperate whinges of the Railtrack shareholders who should have heeded the advertisements which stress that shares can go up or down.
Meanwhile, within the policy units and think tanks of New Labour, there is considerable excitement at what is happening to the railways. Indeed, it was the most New Labour-friendly think tank, the Institute of Pubic Policy Research, which came up with the non-profit making trust idea for Railtrack. And already this Third Way model had been presaged by the transformation of Welsh Water into a mutual company owned by its customers, an arrangement which will lead to higher investment as well as reduced water rate charges.
Railtrack's case is, admittedly, more complex; but it opens the way for a more informed and practical debate on Third Way models for the future. It is just a pity that it took an immense and costly failure – the crude imposition of an unrealistic capitalist model on a crucial industry – to spur New Labour into some serious thinking about genuinely radical alternative methods of providing public services.


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Interior Health celebrates 10th anniversary of telehealth
KELOWNA, BC – Last month, Interior Health marked an important milestone – the 10th anniversary of the introduction of telehealth. In December 2003, the first Telehealth videoconference consultations in IH took place when Kelowna-based surgeons from the B.C. Thoracic Surgery Program linked with patients in Cranbrook and Trail to conduct initial surgical assessments and post-operative follow ups.
In the decade since, nearly 11,300 thoracic patients have received telehealthcare at 54 different hospitals and healthcare sites, saving patients more than 8.4 million kilometres in travel to appointments – the equivalent of 211 trips around the world. The program has reached beyond Interior Health to patients in communities throughout B.C., including approximately 2,500 from Northern Health.
"Telehealth technology helps ensure that patients have access to high-quality healthcare services they need without travelling hundreds of kilometres to access specialist services," says Health Minister Terry Lake. "For patients and families who live outside major centres, this program can make a big difference by supporting faster diagnoses and better health outcomes."
Interior Health is a telehealth leader and was an early adopter of the technology. IH offers telehealth in three ways: through direct patient consultation via videoconferencing, the upload of photographs to a health authority-wide system, or through Home Health monitoring, where patients "check in" from their homes. Since its introduction, the telehealth program has grown to include more than 20 different medical fields, with nearly 55,000 patient uses per year throughout Interior Health. This includes everything from surgical consults, to wound treatment, to renal care.
"Telehealth technology has changed the way Interior Health is able to deliver healthcare, and its use continues to grow," says Interior Health Board Chair Norman Embree (pictured). "Today, 30 percent of all thoracic practice in Interior Health is performed via telehealth. I'm proud to say that this success has been recognized across the province. In fact, the tele-thoracic program was recognized in 2009 with a HEABC Top Innovator Gold Apple Award."
Dr. Michael Humer of Kelowna was one of the thoracic surgeons who, along with his colleague Dr. Bill Nelems, performed the first telehealth consultations a decade ago. Dr. Humer says telehealth supports patients and physicians in their own communities and streamlines patient care when they come for surgery in Kelowna.
"We are excited to celebrate 10 years of the tele-thoracic program. Providing prompt access to thoracic surgical consultations for rural patients in remote communities is one of the best things we do," says Dr. Humer. "We are able to perform scheduled consultations, but we are also able to assess patients who need urgent or emergency care. In the past, they would have only been able to access that care by physically travelling to see a physician. To now have the ability to reach us virtually is what's best for the patient, no matter where they live."
Patients are able to reach beyond Interior Health, as well. For instance, patients with high-risk pregnancies are able to consult with physicians at B.C. Children's and Women's Hospital in Vancouver via tele-ultrasounds.
"Telehealth is a true patient-centric service. It reduces the patients' burden of travel and helps to equalize their access to specialty and other healthcare services," says Mal Griffin, Chief Information Officer for Interior Health. "Health professionals benefit as well. Telehealth improves access to continuing medical education and to a second opinion when one is needed. This helps reduce the isolation of healthcare professionals working in rural and remote communities."
Telehealth is also an environmentally friendly way of providing service. The tele-thoracic service alone has helped reduce greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 2,160 tonnes of carbon dioxide, which is akin to taking about 450 vehicles off the road.


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Q: Using OpenCTI, with SF Classic, can I close a call center in another tab? That title doesn't really fit the bill but I couldn't think of a really good title that didn't just ask the whole question.
I have written a call center for Salesforce Classic using OpenCTI. It works fine; pops to the right page if there's only one matching phone number, shows a page with all the choices if there are multiple matches, and pops to a new Contact, Lead or Account (based on the user's Salesforce-defined preferences) if there's no matching phone number anywhere.
When a call comes in, my call center displays the phone control in a modal in the framed-in space SF allots us. If the user has their Salesforce preferences set to open pops in a new tab, my call center phone control opens on that tab but it also stays open in the initial tab. If I hang up from the call in the second tab, the phone controls in the first tab look like there's still a call in progress, although there is not really.
I'm just wondering if there's any hook or feature in OpenCTI that would let me tell the phone control in the first tab that it's no longer needed and can shut down.

A: I have used in my project something to communicate information between my different opened tabs: tabex. You can use it as a simple pub/sub between the different tabs of your application.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


If you are in need of motivation to get off the couch and get out in the air, see a friend, or begin writing your own idea of the simple, achievable things that make you happy then while you are waiting for motivation to hit this is the perfect film to throw on while you wait it out.
Curtis' film tells the story of Tim Lake (Domhnall Gleeson) meandering his way through life like any other young adult, stagnant in their post-university existence. He's not unhappy but he's not content either. Sounds simple enough except there is an additional complication thrown into the mix: Tim, as a result of an inherited familial characteristic, can time travel. Despite this extraordinary discovery, Tim focuses on using this gift to obtain an extremely ordinary experience: love. And throughout the film, we see that this is no false pretence introduced at the start of the film but abandoned later due to uncontrollable greed or ambition. Tim learns through continuous fails, and repeated third and fourth chances at a certain interaction, that sometimes life just is ordinary. And yet, there is happiness to be found.
The film provides brilliant performances from Domhnall Gleeson, Bill Nighy, Rachel McAdams, and Margot Robbie. There are some plot holes in the rules of time travel but realistically, you're not going into a sci-fi wonder world here. The setting (Cornwall of all places), the relatable everyday events, and the supporting characters all reinforce the idea of the ordinary and this works quite well. Should Curtis have created an Avatar style world the concept of finding happiness in the ordinary would surely have been lost. On occasion, it does cause the viewer to reflect with a pang what they might have changed if they could go back and this is swiftly followed by the obvious acknowledgement that it doesn't matter because you aren't actually a time traveller. In any case, you would be turned off time travelling considering the film's exploration of the complications that come along with it, particularly in terms of bereavement or changing the outcome of even the most volatile situations.
Ultimately, it is an uplifting film and definitely worth a watch. The overarching message is that you cannot control everything and it's a poignant reminder that it's often the ordinary things, days, and people that you will miss when they are gone.


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ScandinavianRetail.com News from the scandinavian retail sector
You are here: Home › Varner Group set to open new chain for women
Varner Group's new fashion chain for women, Days like this, open the doors to eleven stores next week.
Cubus and Bik Bok is already specifically targeted at women, but now the Norwegian fashion group further such a chain in his portfolio with 11 new stores + online sales already this month.
"Days Like This is a brand new chain for women created by women. We believe in the Norwegian fashion, with a well-dressed and modern style with a focus on fine qualities and fits to suit women. Our concept in both physical and digital form should be a restroom offering big smiles and nice style," says CEO Johan Jakobsson.
"We believe that there is a huge variety of girls in the market, but fewer for women. It is the gap we want to fill," says Jakobsson to Netthandel.no.
April 14, the chain opens its doors in 11 shops in Stavanger, Trondheim, Bergen, Tromsø, Ålesund, Kongsberg, Sarpsborg, Hamar, Lørenskog and Sandvika.
April 24 opens the chain's new online store. E-Commerce Manager is Stine Roald and store manager is Wanja Sande Rabben
"We have focused on making it as easy and inspiring as possible. We have taken pictures of all our clothes on models from different angles to make it easy to form an opinion about the clothes when you are unable to see them live. In addition, we want to inspire with tips and advice on how to deal with the major trends in fashion," says Jakobsson.
The online store opens 24 April.
He looks for new Sweden manager for quick store expansion
Varner Group looses sales in Cubus and Carlings
New report: Varner- and H&M-suppliers in India have "unworthy" working conditions
Coop's finally sold Smart Club-building
They are the winners and losers in Swedish fashion
Days like this, Johan Jakobsson, Stine Roald, Varner, Wanja Sande Rabben


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James D. Rudd Memorial Scholarship
Education Programs Show/hide children
Rudd Scholarship
Patient Care Services
Athletic Training Newsletter
Jim Rudd was named head athletic trainer at the University of North Dakota (UND) in 1989. In 1991, Jim and Dr. William Mann created the UND Division of Sports Medicine and Center for Sports Medicine located within the School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS). At this time, Jim's job title changed to program director and assistant professor. This development brought athletic training services and a nationally accredited Bachelor of Science in Athletic Training (BSAT) degree under the SMHS—the first in the nation!
To thank Jim for his countless contributions to the UND Department of Sports Medicine, the James D. Rudd Memorial Scholarship Endowment was established. The endowment was the first ever in support of UND students enrolled in the SMHS Bachelors of Science in Athletic Training program.
More information on the scholarship and application information are below:
UND Department of Sports Medicine
School of Medicine & Health Sciences - Suite E361
steven.westereng@UND.edu


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Q: What the heck is really going on in these Lion LDAP vulnerability reports? Just read a Slashdot thread on LDAP brokenness on OSX. Can anyone explain exactly what is being secured by OpenLDAP and why anything other than data stored on a Lion machine might be at risk?
A quote from the article:

"As pen testers, one of the first things we do is attack the LDAP server," Rob Graham, CEO of auditing firm Errata Security, said. "Once we own an LDAP server we own everything. I can walk up to any laptop (in an organization) and log into it."

How does one go from hacking a random mac LDAP server to owning the entire enterprise?

A: Don't be alarmed. This is not a huge threat to enterprise networks which is suggested by this article in The Register.
Apple Lion is new, and thus this bug is getting a disproportionate amount of attention when compared to similar flaws on other operating systems. Here are some calmer descriptions of this same problem:

*

*"Mac OS X Lion fails to check passwords when authenticating via LDAP".

*Paul Ducklin from nakedsecurity.sophos.com wrote a more reasoned piece about this problem, and the hype behind it.

This is a local exploit on an Apple Lion system which affects that system only. Apple has yet to provide any details. Here's how I understand the problem: if someone logs into a Apple Lion system once successfully, then anyone else can log into the same system with any password. This is a serious problem for that system, but the damage is mostly limited to that particular system. Unfortunately that system is now less-trusted and may be on on your network.
This problem does NOT allow an a hacker to own your AD/LDAP servers, by and of itself. Your AD/LDAP servers will still reject any incorrect LDAP authorization request from any LDAP client. To bypass this would require a major flaw on the LDAP server or the LDAP protocol or a misconfigured server, which is a completely different issue then the problem described above.
Keep in mind that this problem only affects Apple Lion systems which use LDAP for authentication. In most organizations, this will be a very small number of clients. An Apple Lion server might be more vulnerable, but Apple needs to elaborate on the problem and they have not been very forthcoming about this issue, yet. Can you imagine RedHat holding back information on a publicly known vulnerability for such a long time?

A: The problem with the vulnerability is pretty well explained in the article linked by slashdot.
The true problem is that once someone gets onto any Lion machine on the network that is using LDAP as it's Authorization method then, you can read the contents of the LDAP directory. Which would give you access to all accounts on the network that use central authentication. Additionally it gives you access to anything secured by the LDAP Authorization system. Basically, you now own everything on that network.
As a side note, i'm curious if it is a bug in the LDAP authorization or the underlying (probably kerboros) authentication system.
Also, if you are not using LDAP as your authorization source (OpenLDAP, Active Directory, NDS, etc) then you are not effected by this.
To answer you specific question:

Can anyone explain exactaly what is being secured by OpenLDAP

The answer is "It depends ..." on what your IT infrastructure has setup to use LDAP for authorization.


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I have always liked the idea of bridge building when it came to developing a well-thought-out investment plan. The near side of the bridge represents where we are today, the far side is our point of arrival — we've made it to our destination and we are smiling.
A common investment goal is saving for children's education. We first need to understand how far, how deep and how wide does our bridge (money) need to span and design/engineer accordingly. We also need to think about the fundamental tension between saving for education and retirement goals.
Let's do a little case study and let's say that we are financial advisors with two clients: Rachel ("Rach") and Joe, aged 42. Joe and Rach live in Minneapolis and have two children, Josie – seven and Josh – five. Both parents want the kids to go to the University of Minnesota (U of M) and plan to pay for roughly 75% of room, board, tuition, and fees. Josh and Josie will have to pitch in for the other 25% through a combination of work-study, summer jobs, internships or student loans. Rach owns a successful media relations company and takes a $350,000 salary and Joe is an architect with an annual salary of $185,000.
We want to help Joe and Rach with an investment strategy first, before diving down to the tactics or "stuff." to Many people start with the "stuff" or materials that the investment bridge is made of rather than understanding how far, how deep, how wide the bridge needs to be engineered for. There is sales and media information overload on the "stuff" of investments (think retirement account, life insurance cash value, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, ETFs, derivatives) rather than the "strategy" of investments (think bridge building analysis and engineering).
Put another way, our investment "destination" is $20,602 in today's dollars, per year per child. We need to build to a investment bridge that leads to our destination. But and this is an important but…we need to take into account factors like inflation, taxes, rates of investment return, our risk tolerance for investments, along with how much lump sum and/or monthly savings capital Rach and Joe can commit. These are the essential conditions to understand when building investment bridges and plans — whether for education or some other purpose.
Over the years, I've counseled hundreds of clients and financial advisors about investing and have found crystallizing the investment destination and strategy come first.


What happens if we let wildlife go wild?
Alicia Kelly was napping on her den couch in suburban Charleston one afternoon last October. Her three-month-old daughter, Patricia, was sitting awake, propped up and protected in the space between Kelly's prone body and the couch's back cushions.
Panicking, the white-tailed deer leaped away and ran down a hallway, crashing into walls. "He didn't stop after that," says Kelly. "He ran all over the house," looking for an escape route. Kelly grabbed her daughter and started for the back door.
Kelly fled the house, and Charleston County deputies arrived and sedated the seven-point buck. Because the deer suffered internal injuries, a veterinarian later put the animal to sleep.
When the deer initially approached the Kelly home, he probably glimpsed himself in the glass back door. "It was mating season, and he saw another male deer in reflection," says Diane Duss, supervisor of animal control for Charleston County Sheriff Department. Responding to a competitor, he butted the door. When the lock and doorframe gave way, the buck skidded across the den rug to the couch and, rearing, threw his forelegs on Kelly. The glass door rebounded against the wall and closed behind the buck, cutting off his only escape route.
A bewildered deer rampaging through a suburban house is a rare occurrence, but it's just one example of increasing conflicts between people and wildlife around the country. Each year, more Americans complain about wild animals that have lost deep-country habitat and now search for food and shelter in cities and suburbs.
Many metro areas have planted trees and protected open spaces, creating habitat for wild creatures. Homeowners have built ponds and planted flower gardens that attract wildlife, and they have left out pet food and uncovered garbage containers. Some creatures have come to depend on us for handouts, adapting so successfully to human-made environments that they are no longer truly wild. In the parlance of wildlife biologists, these creatures are called "subsidized species," and their populations are growing much faster than our understanding of them.
Ecological generalists, tolerating a broad range of environmental conditions, thrive in urban centers. Opportunistic species can transfer from one kind of prey or nesting site to another if they have to. And some creatures prefer "edges"—they're drawn to places like transitions between forests and meadows or subdivisions. Omnivores, which eat almost anything, adjust particularly well to cities. Certain species—the super-adapters—have most or all of these characteristics.
The coyote, once unknown in the eastern United States, is one of the super-adapters, prowling from the tip of Florida to Alaska, finding habitat in major metros, college campuses, and golf courses. This omnivorous animal "will go to our garbage cans or our pets for its food source," says Adams.
Packs of "coydogs"—coyotes interbred with dogs—have migrated from suburban Westchester County to the Bronx's abandoned lots and even Manhattan's Central Park. In ranching areas, coyotes kill thousands of head of livestock, causing $13.6 million annually in damages.
Instead of migrating north to breed in the Arctic, large numbers of Canada geese now summer in the United States, dropping excrement mounds that foul golf courses, parks, and public beaches. Just 20 geese can leave a ton of feces each year.
Raccoons, sheltering in attics and eating out of garbage cans, not only carry rabies but also roundworm, which can infect humans and cause blindness; there is no known cure. In places where raccoons proliferate, they can degrade water quality.
As humans alter wildlife habitats, large predators are also changing their habits. Alligators routinely show up in southeastern back yards and swimming pools. Hardy and adaptable, alligators can live and breed in drainage ditches if driven out of their habitat. Alligator populations—about 100,000 alligators in South Carolina and an estimated one million gators in Florida—have grown rapidly, as have alligator attacks. American saltwater crocodiles have found homes in the cooling canals of Florida's nuclear power plants.
Bears, it turns out, have a taste for pet rabbits, goats, and llamas. Two years ago, bears in New Jersey went on a rampage, killing livestock and pets and breaking into homes and cars. In South Carolina, bears have wandered out of wildlife refuges and been hit by cars.
Having grown accustomed to people in some western communities, mountain lions stroll fearlessly through back yards and urban paths in the noonday sun. Mountain lions—also known as cougars, pumas, and panthers—have altered their diet to raid Alpo and Purina meals. Their populations and attacks are sharply on the rise. Various mountain-lion subspecies once ranged throughout the United States, but until recently they have been relegated to western states and a narrow range in South Florida.
The most dangerous and expensive fur-bearing animal is one of the mildest-mannered—Bambi. Deer, in fact, is the number-one vertebrate pest in the United States, according to the Jack H. Berryman Institute at Utah State University.
At least three-quarters of a million vehicles collide with white-tailed and mule deer annually in the United States, injuring about 29,000 people and killing another 200. That makes deer deadlier than sharks, alligators, bears, and rattlesnakes combined.
Deer menace forest ecology and wildlife habitat in dozens of states throughout the eastern third of United States. When deer populations explode, they often strip woods of native vegetation and eliminate niches for other species. Deer eat wildflowers, small bushes, and seedlings, displacing smaller animals from their habitat. "Deer have a huge, huge impact on all the little components of a forest," says Steward Pickett, senior scientist at the Institute of Ecosystem Studies, based in Millbrook, New York.
By exterminating most large predators and creating edge habitat between forests and lawns, Americans have created ideal conditions for deer. "It's a simple fact that deer do not have the predators they use to have—the red wolf, the eastern cougar, and the Florida panther," says Larry Richardson, wildlife biologist at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Florida Panther Refuge in Naples, Fla.
The heavily forested, urbanized Northeast has the most deer collisions, but the South has its share too. In South Carolina, four people died in deer collisions and 420 were injured during 2001. Last October, two Ohio residents were killed when their car struck a deer near Myrtle Beach.
What's behind the growing drumbeat of conflict with wild creatures?
Growing numbers of Americans flock to second homes, vacation hideaways, and gated retirement communities surrounded by woods. These low-density developments are connected to urban centers by road and highway networks, which break up and isolate habitat for most large mammals, particularly predators.
Many Americans believe that habitat and wildlife have steadily disappeared throughout the United States over the past century. But that's only partly true. In the eastern third of the United States, forested habitat and many wildlife populations have improved, but only because conditions were so dreadful to begin with.
By 1800, the eastern seaboard's forests were already aggressively converted to farms and timber lots. Most Americans were subsistence farmers who conducted "slash and burn" agriculture. They cut and burned the forest, grew crops for a few years until the fertility was exhausted, and abandoned the land. Forests were cleared for shipbuilding products and charcoal for home heating in towns and cities.
Americans already noticed wild-game declines by the 1830s. In England, the crown owned wildlife, but in the United States it was common property, and anyone was free to shoot wild animals for food or profit. Market hunters, who sold meat and feathers to urban markets, began decimating bird and mammal populations.
During the nineteenth century, agriculture for international markets intensified, particularly in the South. On the eve of the Civil War, there were tens of thousands of small farms and hundreds of giant cotton plantations in the Carolinas. King Cotton's reign continued long after Reconstruction, though southern farmers and planters drew lower profits. South Carolina's cotton agricultural output more than doubled between 1860 and 1890. Prices for cotton, however, fell. Northern railroad syndicates controlled transportation networks and price mechanisms for southern commodities.
To survive, farmers overworked the land, using heavy doses of fertilizer and tilling marginal soils, causing severe erosion. Meanwhile, farmers and logging companies cut down vast forests east of the Mississippi River, and commercial hunting flourished.
By 1900, many wildlife species neared extinction, including white-tailed deer, wild turkey, and black bear. In response, conservationists lobbied to outlaw hunting of threatened species and then slowly nurtured them back in some areas by restocking, setting bounties on predators, and catch-limits for hunters and trappers. Game-conservation laws aided some species but harmed others. Predators such as the coyote and cougar were hunted out of the South and East, and the red wolf was driven almost to extinction.
Then suddenly the southern agricultural economy fell apart. In the 1920s, the boll weevil and a long drought crushed U.S. cotton agriculture. About 40 percent of South Carolina's 19 million acres were so exhausted that they were declared "destroyed" in 1934. Hungry rural people killed wild creatures for food, and many game populations struggled.
Farmers during the nineteenth century fled New England's rocky soils for western farms or factory jobs in towns and cities. The South followed a similar pattern in the 1920s and '30s. Tens of thousands of black farmers left South Carolina, and many white farmers gave up too.
That is, the extent of forest and agricultural land in many parts of the South and East in Vietnam War-era America was comparable to that when George Washington served as U.S. president.
During the twentieth century, rural population drain, agricultural stagnation, the modern conservation movement, and hunting regulations set the stage for an extraordinary rebirth for some wildlife species in the eastern third of the United States. Several thousand white-tailed deer roamed South Carolina in 1900. This population grew to 30,000 to 40,000 by the 1960s—when it grew exponentially to a million by the late 1990s, says Ruth. The wild turkey was virtually extinct during the Depression; now four million inhabit eastern and southern forests.
Yet few modern forests provide the rich habitat they once did, Pickett points out. Many eastern and southern forests are immature in ecological function, lacking the complexity found in more mature woodlands. After logging, the forest canopy grows back fairly quickly. But the intricate, complex groundcover—wildflowers, lichens, mushrooms, and small bushes—don't return for a much longer period. Nor do the animals that rely on specialized groundcover. This is particularly true of the South Carolina coastal plain's pine plantations, which replaced biodiversity-rich longleaf pine forests.
Humans today have unprecedented influence on the future of wild creatures. Either on purpose or by accident, we often determine which species survive and which fade into the background or face extinction. Our manipulations of the environment alter animals' behaviors and sometimes even their evolutionary tracks.
We could be the world's dominant evolutionary force, argues Palumbi, the Stanford University biologist. With applications of antibiotics and pesticides, intense commercial fishing, and species introductions, people have caused extremely swift evolutionary changes in bacteria, insects, and wild fish. Under intense harvesting pressure, for example, pink salmon have rapidly evolved smaller bodies. The larger fish were caught in nets, causing a genetic change so that new generations grow more slowly.
Bacteria, insects, and wild fish reproduce rapidly and in large numbers, so generations of change can be readily observed, and natural selection in the wild can be documented. These creatures rely on genetically based adaptation mechanisms to cope with new conditions.
A raccoon routinely begging for food at someone's back porch soon brings along her young, which learn to beg too. If this behavior is rewarded long enough, it is passed down culturally, says Palumbi.
But as humans have continued dominion over the natural world, the creatures most likely to survive have been those attuned culturally to our habits and tastes. A few species, such as raccoon and opossum, may have even lost some of their feral—or wild—instincts. "Some of these animals are becoming more like commensals"—like rats and mice that rely on and live in close proximity to humans, says Greg Yarrow, a Clemson University wildlife biologist.
It's not uncommon for such species to alter their behaviors to a degree that they begin adapting physiologically. "Some animals reproduce differently in urban environments, with more litters per year and larger litters," says Adams.
Americans have encouraged booming populations of nuisance species, yet many of us feel uneasy taking steps to control them.
Beginning in the 1960s, some environmentalists began to view any human management of nature as destructive, and animal-rights groups condemned killing of animals for sport or to manage wildlife populations. In recent years, animal-rights activists have thwarted efforts by some localities to kill white-tailed deer in urban and suburban areas.
South Carolina hunters have successfully controlled deer herds in rural parts of the state. South Carolina has one of the least restrictive deer-hunting regulatory structures in the nation, including seasons, bag limits, and methods.
But hunting isn't practical in urbanized areas, particularly along the coast. Hunters don't want to shoot guns near houses, and city ordinances prohibit discharging firearms. Now some coastal residents complain about abundant deer, while their neighbors want to protect them. "In many coastal areas where there is development, we don't hunt anymore, so the deer herds get tremendous," says Priscilla M. Wright, DNR wildlife assistance coordinator.
After a protracted lawsuit by animal-welfare activists, DNR and the managers of the gated community Sea Pines on Hilton Head Island are proceeding with a deer-management program to kill some animals with sharpshooters.
Perhaps top predators—such as coyote, wolf, bobcat, and cougar—should be further encouraged or reintroduced to prevent small predators and herbivores from getting out of control, some experts say. Red wolves have been reintroduced in North Carolina, and gray wolves have been re-established in the Northern Rocky Mountains.
Coyotes, which proliferate without direct help from man, could already be culling deer herds along some suburban-rural edges. Human and coyote populations have grown rapidly during the past 15 years in New York's Hudson Highlands 50 miles north of New York City, a popular second-home and weekend destination. But, surprisingly, deer populations have not increased in comparable numbers. Scientists theorize that coyotes are preying on very young deer, especially fawns less than a few months old.
Mountain lions meanwhile are steadily migrating from western states to the Midwest, attracted by vast numbers of deer. Confirmed lion sightings or their roadside carcasses have been found in Nebraska, Kansas, North Dakota, Iowa, and Minnesota.
"Eventually you will see puma in South Carolina," says Paul Beier, a wildlife ecologist at Northern Arizona University, who has extensively studied mountain lions.
It might take 50 years or more for mountain lions to migrate naturally to South Carolina, or five to 10 years if the Florida panther is reintroduced into northern Florida under a proposed U.S. Fish and Wildlife plan. Environmentalists and resource managers have hoped to return the panther to its historic range in the South, which includes the coastal plain of South Carolina between Savannah and Charleston and the western third of the state.
Top predators help preserve ecosystem functions and contribute to richer biodiversity. Mountain lions not only limit overabundant herbivores, which can destroy native plants, but these large cats also devour smaller predators like raccoons, which feast on songbird eggs and thus suppress some bird populations.
Richardson, the Florida panther expert, argues that big cats can be safely integrated into places in the South and the East where sufficient habitat has been preserved. The Florida panther lives without incident in South Florida's remaining wild areas adjacent to densely populated cities.
That's the paradox of the modern relationship between humans and wild creatures. For wildness to thrive, people must manage it intensively, recreating or sustaining natural processes and functions. Leaving wildness to its own devices usually means that it will disappear—or turn around and bite us.
Follow a few simple rules to avoid conflicts with most nuisance species, says Priscilla M. Wright, S.C. Department of Natural Resources wildlife assistance coordinator.
Second, put garbage cans behind a locked door or strap down garbage lids with bungee cords, so raccoons can't get to them.
Many species of hawks, owls, eagles, and falcons are generalists, which means they can adapt quickly when one source of food disappears or when nesting sites are disrupted.
Many raptors can adapt to dramatic changes to their environment, but only if the changes occur outside nesting and breeding schedules. Thus a developer can cut down an historically favored nest site if this change happens when the birds are not breeding, so the birds have time to find another place, says Elliott.
Some raptors are so adaptable that they thrive in the nation's biggest cities. In 1970, the peregrine falcon was an endangered species, with only 300 pairs nationwide. Now falcons nest and hunt in New York City, Baltimore, Chicago, Seattle, and other cities, swooping among high buildings to catch pigeons.
But raptors with specialized feeding or nesting requirements are struggling. Take the snail kite, which eats freshwater snails in Florida. When swamps are drained, the freshwater snails disappear, and the snail kite cannot switch to another food source, says Elliott. Now the snail kite is classified as endangered in Florida. Other raptors that have lost population due to habitat loss include the southeastern American kestrel, the spotted owl, and the burrowing owl.
Wildlife ecologists once believed that the only environments worth studying were remote and "pristine," untouched by human hands. Ecologists ignored urban areas except as places where people had destroyed nature.
In other words, human influences on nature are a matter of degree, and people are embedded in all natural processes. Such ideas led some scientists to explore a new frontier of research: urban ecology.
City environments are surprisingly rich biologically. For example, bird diversity in the Phoenix metro area is actually higher than that in the surrounding desert, as is total bird abundance. Many bird species are attracted to the city where water and other resources are more consistently available than in the desert. Birds especially prefer sewage treatment plants and detention basins, where plant productivity flourishes.
Still, "knowing the number of species (in a given place) is not that instructive," says Steward Pickett, senior scientist at the Institute of Ecosystem Studies, based in Millbrook, New York, and project director of the National Science Foundation's Long Term Ecological Research Program (LTER) in Baltimore. The agency is supporting the nation's two major, interdisciplinary urban-ecology studies in Phoenix and Baltimore.
Resource-rich urban environments are altering many birds' physiology. A bird's hormonal clock coincides breeding with warmer weather and longer spring days so that newborns arrive at times of greater food availability. The urban environment, however, is altering these hormonal clocks. Fossil-fuel burning increases local temperatures in large metro areas, creating microclimates where spring starts sooner. Some bird species have begun their spring breeding earlier in the city than in the desert, and their breeding seems to last longer. Some species breed more than once each year in urbanized places, so they build up higher densities there.
But "not all bird species are capable of altering their reproductive systems" to accommodate urban living, says Katti. "Some birds have hormonal systems that are very tightly coupled with day length," so they are less flexible and therefore have difficulty competing in the city. "The ones that do well are more flexible." Meanwhile, the birds that lack flexibility fade in population, at least in urban places.
Bears in the Backyard, Deer in the Driveway. Washington, D.C.: International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, 1999.
Conover, Michael. Resolving Human-Wildlife Conflicts: The Science of Wildlife Damage Management. Boca Raton, Fla.: Lewis Press, 2002.
Harden, Blaine. "Deer Draw Cougars Ever Eastward." New York Times, Nov. 12, 2002.
MacCleery, Douglas W. American Forests: A History of Resiliency and Recovery. Durham, N.C.: Forest History Society, 2002.
Matthews, Anne. Wild Nights: Nature Returns to the City. New York: North Point Press, 2001.
McKibben, Bill. "An Explosion of Green." Atlantic Monthly, April 1995.
Paige, L.C. America's Wildlife: The Challenge Ahead. Washington, D.C.: International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, 2000.
Reven, Andrew C. "Out of Control, Deer Send Ecosystem into Chaos." New York Times, Nov. 12, 2002.


Moonlight Mile (Set in Stone) (Set in Stone Multi-Author Book 6) - Kindle edition by B.J. McCall. Literature & Fiction Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.
Sugar Evans loves to drive fast cars with powerful engines. It's her legacy. She's determined to win the race her father lost fifteen years ago in the Moonlight mile, the final and decisive mile of one of the toughest nighttime races on the circuit. To win, she has to beat top contender, Callan MacQuaid.


text:
hunch & shuffle
The modesty of caramel – burned, earthy
& smashed against my wanton mouth in stickled
smudges – make a meal of my gushing brains, take
my faith as fallen & my delicate curls
unshaven. Pimp your pickles with my bluish
pelvis. I crook myself upon you, dribbling
with an anorexic urgency, and I don't see
your workload lightening beneath the crusted
halo of your charm, cowboy, so knuckle down.
Posted by sophie robinson at 12:49 PM 6 comments:
flesh leggings
A persuasive blackness of spirit touches
you, & I do not have the answer you
Feel you deserve. Your olive-oil stomach
Is calling out for the thrill of lips, &
Your hurt curls are enshrined in cotton.
Small and puffy by the door, a backless
Vibration falls amongst us, a low-flowered
Anger. You hold out your palms of feel the
Chesty pulses, and soon it creeps in you,
Harping over and over the hands and
Cities. The loving diagnosis of
Your hip shot from grace – a stapler greeted
By skin, broke, fell to earth like a gazelle.
Upcoming Readings
DESPERATE FOR LOVE]
Komedia Studio Bar, Gardner Street, Brighton
8-11pm / £3.50
Keston Sutherland is a Brighton based poet. He teaches at the university and through his editing of the poetics journal Quid, co-editing (with Andrea Brady) of Barque Press, and most notably through his own poetry, has already made a huge and pemanent contribution to poetry culture in Britain. His most recent collections are: Hot White Andy, Neocosis and Neutrality. He's read all over the world and his poems have been translated into several languages. Keston's a brilliantly engaging reader. His poems are spiked and sticky, spattered with jump edits and blurt jargon, precise in their articulations of the millivolt twitching of difficulty, and funnier than you think or deserve.
Sophie Robinson is a London poet who's work has appeared in various online magazines including Pilot, How2 and Dusie as well as Jeff Hilson's Reality Street Book Of Sonnets and Voice Recognition: 21 Poets for the 21st Century (Bloodaxe) Her most recent collection, 'a' (Les Figues Press) is a magnetically fascinating tender and beautiful book about loss. Everyone we've shown it to has been transfixed by it. I hope she brings some so you can all buy one.
Neil Palmer is Brighton's foremost and only Hauntiquarian. A mage of divergence, his stuff is: punk rock, words, tailoring, speculative enquiry. All conducted at the sub-rumour valency. Provisional cassettes, secret discographies, unmaintained websites, and a recent chapbook Hillwaking all testify to his fierce, baffling, kind, impatient intelligence.
PLUS: Desperate For Love regulars reading, Alan introducing people and rambling slightly, Steph from Born Bad playing beautiful and apposite records, and a free chapbook for the first 50 of you through the door. Fraser behind the bar, Lisa on the door, it's a family affair. If you come, you're family. You are so coming.
14 HOUR : VOICE RECOGNITION SPECIAL
Whitechapel Gallery, Whitechapel High Street, London E1
7.30pm / FREE ENTRY
To mark the release of Bloodaxe's anthology Voice Recognition: 21 Poets for the 21st Century, 14 Hour presents 5 of its poets.
AMY BLAKEMORE + HEATHER PHILLIPSON + ADAM O'RIORDAN + SOPHIE ROBINSON + AHREN WARNER
"Who are the best young poets today? Which new poets are most likely to become the defining voices of their generation? Two young editors, JAMES BYRNE and CLARE POLLARD, set out to answer these questions in Voice Recognition, a vibrant anthology introducing 21 of the most exciting young poets of the 21st century.
"Voice Recognition showcases the work of a talented new wave of poets from Britain and Ireland who are just now starting to make their mark. None has yet published a first book of poems. All are likely to produce distinctively different debut collections in the next few years.
"Influenced by poetries from across the world, and unafraid to take risks, all these poets are committed to extending and remaking the traditions of poetry in a fast-changing new millennium. Their poems show a lively range of styles and subjects - sometimes sexy, sometimes dark, but consistently brimming with vitality. The future of poetry begins here.
"Voice Recognition includes: Jay Bernard, Emily Berry, Amy Blakemore, Siddhartha Bose, Ailbhe Darcy, Joe Dunthorne, Miriam Gamble, Sarah Jackson, Annie Katchinska, Mark Leech, Toby Martinez de las Rivas, Jonathan Morley, Adam O'Riordan, Colm O'Shea, Sandeep Parmar, Heather Phillipson, Kate Potts, Sophie Robinson, Jack Underwood Ahren Warner, and James Womack." - official blurb.
● AMY BLAKEMORE was a Foyle Young Poet of the Year in both 2007 and 2008, and has since been highlighted by the Times as one of the top ten rising stars of British poetry. Her work has been featured in various places, including Iota, Brittle Star, Rising and Pomegranate.
● HEATHER PHILLIPSON has received commissions and awards for her writing, including the Michael Donaghy Poetry Prize in 2007, an Eric Gregory Award in 2008, and a Faber New Poets Award in 2009. Her pamphlet will be published by Faber and Faber in October 2009. She is also an artist and exhibits nationally and internationally, with recent shows in London, Paris and New York. She has a PhD in Fine Art practice and received the Sir Leslie Joseph Young Artist Award 2009.
● ADAM O'RIORDAN was born in Manchester and educated at the universities of Oxford and London. From 2008 to 2009 he was Poet-in-Residence at The Wordsworth Trust, the Centre for British Romanticism. His first collection will be published by Chatto and Windus in 2010.
● SOPHIE ROBINSON was born in 1985, and lives and works in London. She has an MA in Poetic Practice from Royal Holloway, and is currently working on a practice-based PhD at Royal Holloway. Her first chapbook, Killin'Kittenish!, was published by yt communications in 2006. Since 2005 she has performed at numerous events in the UK and the US. Her critical and creative work has been featured in Dusie, How2 and Pilot.
● AHREN WARNER has published his poems in magazines including Poetry Review, Magma and The Wolf. He has work forthcoming in several anthologies, including Voice Recognition: 21 Poets for the 21st Century (Bloodaxe) and Identity Parade: An Anthology of New British and Irish Poets (Bloodaxe). He also has a pamphlet forthcoming from Donut Press. He maintains a keen interest in post-Heideggarian ontology and aesthetics, and kittens.
OPENNED: LAJEE FUNDRAISER
The Foundry, Great Eastern Street, London EC2A
The next Openned night, the Land for Lajee Fundraiser, takes place on Tuesday 6th October.
Confirmed readers so far are: Sean Bonney, Sophie Robinson, Harry Gilonis, Josh Stanley, Tim Atkins, Nat Raha, Posie Rider, Peter Philpott, Alan Hay, Michael Zand, Amy De'Ath, Elizabeth-Jane Burnett, Frances Kruk, Raz, Andrea Brady, Justin Katko.
Publishers donating to the book table include: Barque Press, Reality Street, Bad Press, West End Lane Books, Critical Documents, Grasp Press, Hot Gun!, Veer.
Come along and buy amazing books to support the Lajee Project. Visit Openned for more details about the night and the project.
Posted by sophie robinson at 2:39 PM No comments:
Voice Recognition: 21 Poets for the 21st Century
Who are the best young poets today? Which new poets are most likely to become the defining voices of their generation? Two young editors, James Byrne and Clare Pollard, set out to answer these questions in Voice Recognition, a vibrant anthology introducing 21 of the most exciting young poets of the 21st century.
Voice Recognition showcases the work of a talented new wave of poets from Britain and Ireland who are just now starting to make their mark. None has yet published a first book of poems. All are likely to produce distinctively different debut collections in the next few years.
Influenced by poetries from across the world, and unafraid to take risks, all these poets are committed to extending and remaking the traditions of poetry in a fast-changing new millennium. Their poems show a lively range of styles and subjects – sometimes sexy, sometimes dark, but consistently brimming with vitality. The future of poetry begins here.
Jay Bernard • Emily Berry • Amy Blakemore • Siddhartha Bose • Ailbhe Darcy • Joe Dunthorne • Miriam Gamble • Sarah Jackson • Annie Katchinska • Mark Leech • Toby Martinez de las Rivas • Jonathan Morley • Adam O'Riordan • Colm O'Shea • Sandeep Parmar • Heather Phillipson • Kate Potts • Sophie Robinson • Jack Underwood • Ahren Warner • James Womack
Voice Recognition @ Bloodaxe
Buy the book on Amazon.co.uk
Posted by sophie robinson at 2:33 PM 3 comments:
Struck acute, I dine alone
& sad; like a burned
out carcass of a car in
a ghetto in Paris I
am too tired to riot.
You cling translucent
To my rustic children, a
Petrol-slick & I long to
Say hello. Tears in my soup,
eyes in my mouth. How
can we have an exchange when
you're being so quiet. Hello.


Welcome to My Ion™ System portal, your starting point for remote access to the Ion communication system. This portal allows you to register your system, choose notification options, see a summary of all of your systems, and download mobile apps to access your system on-the-go.
You can also download a My Ion™ app for use on your smartphone or tablet device!


With Mukesh Ambani led Reliance Jio celebrating its second anniversary, it is offering its users various surprises during the entire month. After offering 16 GB of complementary data to its entire base, Jio is offering its highest selling plan at Rs 100 per month.
The company's Rs 399 recharge pack is the highest selling plan and it will now become cheaper to Rs 299 for users. After offering 16 GB of complementary data to its entire base, Jio is offering its highest selling plan at Rs 100 per month.


VANCOUVER, Feb. 23 Creo Products Inc. (NASDAQ: CREO - news; TSE: CRE - news; 'Creo') today announced that the shareholders elected directors Morgan Sturdy and Mark Dance at this week's Annual General meeting. Creo's board of directors remains at nine members. In addition, the shareholders approved the statutory business including the stock option plan amendments. At the meeting, Yoav Chelouche, Co-Chair of the Creo board thanked Raffi Amit and Dan Gelbart for their leadership and board participation, ``Creo has benefited enormously from Raffi's five year governance as Chair and Co-Chair as well as Dan's 15 years of service as director. On behalf of the entire board, I would like to thank Raffi and Dan for their dedication and invaluable contribution to Creo. Raffi has decided to devote his time to other business opportunities and we wish him well. Dan will continue to serve as Creo's President and Chief Technology Officer and foster the development of Creo's unique R&D efforts. In addition, I welcome Mark Dance and Morgan Sturdy to the board. We strongly believe their knowledge and experience will promote our market and technology leadership.'' Morgan Sturdy, 49, brings over 20 years of experience in managing and guiding successful technology and manufacturing companies. Mr. Sturdy, the former Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President of NICE Systems Ltd. in North America (Nasdaq: NICE - news), continues to provide management consulting services for NICE, the leading global provider of Computer Telephony Integrated voice capture, quality measurement and workflow solutions for voice and data. Mr. Sturdy has been involved in five acquisitions with a total value of more than US$400 million. He also serves on the board of directors for seven technology companies in BC; four of which are publicly traded: Infowave Software, Intrinsyc Software, Q/Media Services, and Voice Mobility International. Mark Dance, 37, is Executive Vice President of Creo and President of CreoScitex, Creo's graphic arts operating division. Since April 2000, Mr. Dance has led the integration of Creo and the prepress assets acquired from Scitex Corporation Ltd. and united Creo's prepress and print-on-demand initiatives. Prior to his appointment as President of CreoScitex, Mr. Dance held a variety of positions at Creo Products Inc. including Chief Operating Officer; VP, Operations; VP, Product Development; and Product Manager for CTP products.


Inside the cover of the book, stuck between recipe pages, was an old ditto hand-out. Stained with oil spots and some handwritten notes on the side was a recipe for communion bread. Imagine my surprise and delight when I saw the name of my high school home economics teacher on the page. I suspect she was demonstrating how to make unleavened bread to a community group and one of the attendees wrote her name on the page. But, maybe it was hers? It doesn't matter to me, either way, this is a treasure. After all, it's been nearly thirty years!
That cookbook looks so familar, I think I had one like it many years ago!
How special that it could have been your teacher's!
I simply mix it all together in my blender. We add a bit more agave syrup to ours as we like it a little sweeter.


GENERAL DESCRIPTION: Primary duties consist of operating the communications console, teletype network and computer system, input of dispatch related information. Additionally, to provide timely and accurate transmittal of information and messages received regarding police operations and public information. The work involves extensive contacts with law enforcement officers and personnel providing other municipal services, and the general public. This is a position that has a tremendous amount of responsibility to be able to act and react in a safe, efficient manner for the protection of life and property.
EXAMPLES OF SPECIFIC WORK PERFORMED: 1) Answer telephone and transmit messages to proper authorities; 2) Operate two-way communication equipment, coordinate by radio with local police units and other law enforcement agencies and other departments of the City and businesses providing emergency services; 3) Operate the teletype, send/receive and file messages; 4) Meet and assist the public who enter the police building for information and route them to the proper place for assistance; 5) Initiate a written Calls for Service (CFS) report that will be entered into the computer as time permits, for all activity, including all actions of the officers, telephone or walk-in complaints from the public, or coordination of services with other City departments; 6) Provide the police personnel with current information through inquiry capability into the departments history files, outstanding warrants file, known offenders file, as authorized; 7) Serves as 911 call taker, receiving and dispatching 911 calls as necessary; 8) Maintain log for all required forms for entry into the system, National Crime Information Center; 9) When requested by officer, provide for call-out emergency services such as ambulance, wrecker service, fire, street, utility or other departments; burglary alarm notification and essential services required from gas and electric companies; 10) Input data into and retrieve data from several types of computer systems; 11) Travel out of town to attend training when assigned; 12) Perform other duties as required by supervisor for the efficient operation of the police department.
PHYSICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS: Indoor work, pleasant and unpleasant conditions. Exposure to noise. Light physical activity. Ability to sit, stand and move about an office or building. Employee occasionally lifts materials weighing approximately 20-30 pounds or climbs in order to reach cabinets. Ability to bend and squat in order to file or retrieve information. May be exposed to electrical, mechanical or chemical hazards when operating or maintaining office equipment. Ability to see and handle small objects. Due to the nature of police work, dispatchers undergo a high stress factor in determining a situation and have to make quick, accurate decisions in transmitting information. Work involves shift work with shift changes every three months, working on weekends and holidays. Overtime required on as-needed basis.
CONTACT WITH OTHERS: Frequent contact with the general public and law enforcement personnel from several different agencies.
EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE: High school diploma or G.E.D. certificate; prefer one year as dispatcher or related experience. Computer knowledge desirable. On the job training will be provided. Must participate in training schools made available, as required by supervisor.
KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES: General knowledge of law enforcement work; must be familiar with identifying geographical locations of City streets on a map and be able to give accurate information to officers on patrol; Must be familiar with geographical locations of streets in Brownwood and have a general knowledge of county roads and highways in the county as well as landmarks in the county, i.e. Lake Brownwood, Bangs, Brookesmith, Camp Bowie, etc.; Must be able to use teletype by touch system with accuracy and speed, and work with computer system keyboard; must have a clear, distinct voice for radio communication transmissions and in answering the telephone; ability to work under conditions of stress and still maintain a pleasant disposition to other employees and the public; must have the ability to memorize and interpret codes governing radio use; due to the nature of police work, employees must be cautioned that they are not to relate information regarding some police activities unless authorized by their supervisors.
1) Telecommunications operator certificate required as provided for in the Laws of the State of Texas and rules of the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement; prefer acquisition of certification within six months; must acquire state licensing within one year. 2) Required to attend TCIC/NCIC Course within 6 months of hire.
3) Required to attend Texas Law Enforcement Telecommunications (TLETS) and National Law Enforcement Telecommunications (NLETS) School within 1 year of hire.
4) Attend other training schools as needed.
5) Must complete NIMS IS-100, ICS-200, IS-700 and IS-800 within 1 year of hire.
6) Must complete 24 hour course of Crisis Communications within 1 year of hire.
7) May be required to be a Notary Public.


I wanted to share my latest guest post on the Kind Over Matter website. This article is one I think you'll love!
It is all about re-appreciation, a really fun practice that will make you feel happy inside. And will make others say "wow" about you!!
P.S. In the spirit of practicing what I preach: I want to thank all of you who took the time to send my mom birthday cards a couple months ago. Seriously, she is STILL enjoying them. And I am enjoying her joy. You are AWESOME!!! This gift will live on forever in our hearts! If you want to gift someone you love with a Gift Card Bonanza, read this article on how to do it!!