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2018 Lamborghini Aventador S
Lambo's flagship supercar gets more power, rear-wheel steering
by Ciprian Florea, on January 25, 2017, 09:00
The Lamborghini Aventador was unveiled in early 2011 and replaced the Murcielago as the company's range-topping supercar. Its styling is inspired by the limited-edition Reventon and the Estoque concept car, while motivation is provided by Lamborghini's second V-12 engine design in 50 years. Like its predecessor, the Aventador spawned Roadster and higher-performance SuperVeloce versions, with the latter gaining a drop-top variant of its own. The supercar was also used as a base for the Aventador J concept and the Veneno, a limited-edition model that stands out for its outlandish design and ludicrous price tag. In late 2016, Lambo unleashed a mid-cycle update for the Aventador, also adding an "S" badge to its name.
Spotted testing on public roads since early 2016, the Aventador S prototype didn't have much to say about the changes Lambo had in store and it was believed that the update will be about minor nips and tucks. However, the Italian brand had completely different plans for the coupe, giving it a complete makeover in the aerodynamics and chassis department. It's also significantly more powerful, moving very closer to the beefed-up SuperVeloce thanks to a 30-horsepower bump.
"This is the next generation Aventador as well as the expression of new technological and performance milestones in super sports car development," said Automobili Lamborghini Chairman and CEO Stefano Domenicali. "The Aventador S is visionary design, cutting-edge technology and driving dynamics in pure harmony, and elevates the concept of super sports cars to a new level."
The Lambo Aventador S will reach its first customers in Spring 2017 as a 2018-model-year vehicle.
Updated 01/25/2017: Lamborghini dropped a series of new images, plus a new video taken during the cars global debut at the Ricardo Tormo circuit in Valencia (Spain).
Continue reading to learn more about the Lamborghini Aventador S.
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2021/12/20 The Lamborghini Aventador's Successor Spied, And It Has A V-12!
7 speed ISR
Horsepower @ RPM:
Torque @ RPM:
0-60 time:
2.9 sec.
Top Speed:
217 mph (Est.)
Although the facelifted Aventador looks identical to its predecessor from a distance, a closer look reveals many new features. Up front, we can see a more aggressive nose and a significantly redesigned bumper. The nose is no longer a body-colored panel, but now features a black insert shaped around the splitter and smaller side vents. The splitter, on the other hand, is now longer and extends toward the sides of the bumper. These modifications redirect airflow for better aerodynamic efficiency and improved engine cooling.
Onto the side, Lambo kept most body panels intact, but it did introduce a new rear wheel arch design inspired by the original Countach. Specifically, the arches are a bit squared off at the top and include a big cutout toward the side skirts. Needless to say, it may not seem to similar to the Countach given that there's no cladding, but Lamborghini gearheads will most definitely notice a resemblance.
Overall, the revised Aventador boasts 130% more downforce at the front compared to the previous model
Bigger changes are in store around back, especially below the taillights. The center section between them is finished in black rather than body color like on the outgoing model, while the side vents are slimmer. As a result of the intakes being smaller, the bumper is taller toward the sides, which gives the supercar a more muscular look. Down below, Lambo added a larger, motorsport-inspired diffuser with three fins on each side of the exhaust. The new diffuser reduces drag through pressure recovery. Speaking of aero features, the active rear wing is now movable in three positions depending on speed and drive mode. Finally, the black diffuser — which can also be ordered in carbon-fiber optionally — houses a three-outlet exhaust.
Overall, the revised Aventador boasts 130% more downforce at the front compared to the previous model. When in optimum position, the new wing improves overall efficiency at high downforce by over 50 percent and in low drag by more than 400 percent.
COMPETING DESIGNS
The F12berlinetta is as classic as they get, but that's not to say it's not aggressive enough
Although it's radically different from the Aventador as far as engine placement goes, the F12berlinetta is the Lamborghini's main competitor in this niche. The rivalry between the two brands in this segment goes way back to the 1970s and until Ferrari discontinued the Testarossa in 1996, both companies had mid-engined supecars. The Testarossa's last iteration, the F512 M, competed against the iconic Diablo, but in 1996 Ferrari decided to ditch the mid-ship layout in favor of a front-engined design that survived to this day through the 550, 575M, 599, and now the F12berlinetta. Naturally, the first thing that you'll notice is that the Ferrari has the more traditional long nose that comes with the grand tourer configuration. Compared to the Aventador S, the F12berlinetta is as classic as they get, but that's not to say it's not aggressive enough. On the contrary, the big gaping mouth and the sweptback headlamps up front give it a menacing appearance, while the sculpted side panels and the muscular rear haunches add a touch of elegance. The rear end is somewhat simpler, but the T-shaped bumper and the single, round taillights give it a retro stance that the Aventador can't provide. Granted, it doesn't look like a proper supercar, but this only makes the F12berlinetta the more deceitful, cool vehicle.
Lamborghini Aventador S
Ferrari F12berlinetta
106.29 107.1
Overall length (Inches)
Overall width (Inches)
Overall height (Inches)
Inside, the Aventador remains unchanged as far as design goes, but Lambo did introduce a few new features. For starters, there's a new, all-digital instrument cluster that can be customized in many ways. The TFT screen also display different images for each driving mode. When the car is being used in the new Ego mode, which we will discuss in more detail in the next section, it reveals further options on pop-up digital screens, allowing the driver to choose his preferred settings.
There's a new, all-digital instrument cluster that can be customized in many ways
Apple CarPlay connectivity comes standard, allowing both the driver and passenger to manage voice activated communications and entertainment from personal mobile devices. The revised Aventador can also be had with the Lamborghini telemetry system, but only at extra cost. Developed for customers who want to take their cars to the track, the telemetry can be used to record lap times, track performance, as well as trip data.
Just like before, the interior specification of the Aventador S is virtually limitless through Lamborghini's Ad Personam customization program. All you need is a lot of cash to spend on special upholstery colors and contrast stitching.
You can customize just about anything given you have a fat wallet to throw at Ferrari
Much like the Aventador, the F12berlinetta is a nice place to spend time in. Almost every surface is wrapped in leather and Alcantara, and every inch that's not is either aluminum, carbon-fiber, or high-quality, smooth-touch plastics. There's contrast stitching all over the place, and both the dashboard and door panels can be had in two-tone finishes as start. Naturally, there are unlimited upholstery colors to choose from and you can customize just about anything given you have a fat wallet to throw at Ferrari. Beyond the luxury features, the F12's cabin is rather clean and simple compared to the Aventador's. Whether you like it or not is obviously a matter of taste, but you simply cannot ignore the fact that it looks classy enough to rival offerings from Bentley and Rolls-Royce. There's a lot of tech in there too. The big, all-digital instrument cluster is split in three and includes the infotainment system, satellite navigation, stereo with Bluetooth streaming, and voice-activated audio controls on the right side. On the left side, you get access to the Vehicle Dynamic Assistance functions, car status, potential performance, changing between RACE, CT-off and ESC-off modes, and other features. In the middle you have a massive rev counter and gear indicator.
Fortunately, Lamborghini didn't spend all its Aventador facelift budget on the exterior and inside the cabin. Some of it went under the shell too, where the supercar received an extensive drivetrain upgrade. As you might have already guessed from the LP 740-4 name, the Aventador S' 6.5-liter V-12 cranks out 740 PS, which converts to 730 horsepower. That's exactly 40 horses more than the outgoing model and only nine horsepower less compared to the wild Aventador SV. Torque remained unchanged at 690 Nm or 509 pound-feet.
The Aventador S' 6.5-liter V-12 cranks out 740 PS, which converts to 730 horsepower
The extra 40 horsepower comes from the addition of optimized VVT (Variable Valve Timing) and VIS (Variable Intake System) systems. Additionally, Lambo increased maximum engine revs from 8,350 to 8,500 rpm. The oomph travels to the wheels through the familiar Independent Shifting Rod (ISR) seven-speed gearbox, which shifts in as little as 50 milliseconds. Despite the added power and new aerodynamic features, the sprint from 0 to 60 mph is achieved in the same 2.9 seconds. Top speed also remains unchanged at 217 mph.
While performance is about the same, Lambo changed quite a lot beyond the engine
While performance is about the same, Lambo changed quite a lot beyond the engine. There's a new exhaust system that's 20 percent lighter and provides enhanced engine note and an improved ESC strategy with faster and more precise traction control and vehicle dynamics. The permanent four-wheel drive has been recalibrated for the stabilizing effect of the new Lamborghini rear-wheel steering system, allowing more torque to the rear axle. Specifically, when powering off the throttle, less torque is shifted to the front axle to allow oversteer behavior and a sporty, but safe drive.
Lamborghini engineers have also integrated the smart Lamborghini Dinamica Veicolo Attiva (LDVA) control unit to manage the systems above. Essentially the new brain of the car, the LDVA which receives real-time and precise information on body motion via input from all sensors of the car and it instantly defines the best setup of all active systems. Another novelty is the addition of the Ego mode to the familiar Strada, Sport, and Corsa. While Strada continues to deliver maximum comfort for daily use, Sport is tuned for spirited driver and a rear-wheel-drive feel, and Corsa is setup for extreme track performance, Ego mode provides additional, customizable setup for engine, gearbox, steering, and suspension.
Just like the outgoing model, the Aventador S features a stop-start system and cylinder deactivation for optimized engine efficiency.
COMPETING PERFORMANCE
The F12berlinetta may look like a slow and heavy grand tourer, but this impression will quickly disappear once you see it in action. For starters, the coupe tips the scales at only 1,525 kg (3,362 lb), which makes it 50 kg (110 pounds) lighter than the Aventador. Second, under that long hood lurks a 6.3-liter V-12 engine rated at no less than 730 horsepower and 509 pound-feet of torque. Believe it or not, that's the same output as the Aventador S.
Although lighter and as powerful, the F12berlinetta is actually two tenths of a second slower
Does this mean that the Ferrari is quicker? Despite the number logic; no! Although lighter and as powerful, the F12berlinetta is actually two tenths of a second slower than the Lambo, needing 3.1 clicks to hit 60 mph. And that's because the Ferrari is a pure rear-wheel-drive machine, whereas the Aventador S has an all-wheel-drive system. Also, the F12berlinetta doesn't have rear wheel steering. Ferrari only recently introduced that feature and it's not yet known whether it will be made available on this model or not. Finally, as far as performance goes, the Ferrari is also slower when it comes to top speed, reaching "only" 211 mph.
The F12's power travels to the rear wheels through a race-bred, seven-speed dual-clutch automated gearbox operated by paddle shifters behind the steering wheel. Compared to other Ferrari models, the F12berlinetta uses shortened gear ratios to match the power of the engine.
6.5-liter V-12 6.3-liter V-12
730 HP @ 8,400 RPM 730 HP @ 8,500 RPM
508 LB-FT @ 5,500 508 LB-FT @ 6,000
7 speed ISR F1 dual-clutch
Acceleration 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph)
2.9 seconds 3.1 seconds
217 mph 211 mph
3,472 Lbs 3,362 Lbs
Weight distribution (front/rear)
43%/57% 46%/54%
The Aventador S may look menacing and put more than 700 horsepower on the tarmac, but it wouldn't be much of a supecar without a well-built chassis. Although the outgoing model was pretty solid in this department, Lambo decided it's time to upgrade the unique and extremely rigid carbon-fiber monocoque with attached aluminum frames. Arguably the most important update is the four-wheel steering, a first for a production series Lamborghini. A feature already seen on Porsche and Ferrari sports cars, it delivers improved agility at low and medium speeds and more stability at high speed
Arguably the most important update is the four-wheel steering, a first for a production series Lamborghini
Lamborghini also revised its Direct Steering system, which has been specially adapted to integrate with the new rear-wheel steering system and now reacts to the driver's steering movements in just five milliseconds, allowing real-time angle and cornering stiffness adjustment. The list continues with updated pushrod and Lamborghini Magneto-rheological Suspension (LMS). The latter includes revised kinematics adapted to the new four-wheel steering. There's also a new suspension geometry optimized for Lamborghini Rear-wheel Steering with upper and lower arm and wheel carriers to reduce caster and load on the system. A new real-time variable damping system optimizes wheel and body control, while maximizing balance and ground stiffness.
Finally, the Aventador S rides on new, specially developed Pirelli P Zero tires that respond to the dynamic behavior of the... yup, you guessed it... rear-wheel steering system. Stopping power comes ventilated and perforated carbon-ceramic discs and carbon-ceramic calipers, they stop de car from 60 mph in just 31 meters (101.7 feet).
Unlike the Aventador, which uses a carbon-fiber tub, the F12berlinetta is built around an aluminium space frame chassis co-developed with Scaglietti. The chassis is made up of 12 different aluminium alloys and improves structural rigidity by 20 percent over its predecessor. The center of gravity has been lowered by around an inch. Although not dated, the technology is obviously a bit behind the Aventador's — something that Ferrari probably won't fix until the nameplate is replaced.
The Italian coupe comes with ABS, SCM-E magneto-rheological suspension, an electronic limited-slip differential, ESP Premium stability control, and F1-Trac traction control. The car's stability and traction control, suspension, and other settings are controlled by the Manettino dial mounted on the steering wheel. The F12berlinetta is fitted with Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires, while stopping power comes from Ferrari's third generation CCM3 carbon-ceramic disc brakes.
Pricing for the Aventador S begins from $421,350, a sticker that includes the gas guzzler tax. This means that the facelifted supercar is almost $20,000 more expensive than its predecessor, but it sounds right given all the updates. European customers will be able to purchase the Lambo from €281,555, while British enthusiasts will have to pay £225,955 before options.
COMPETING PRICES
Although I can rarely say that a Ferrari is more affordable than the competition, this certainly applies here. The F12berlinetta retails from around $330,000 in the United States, which makes it a whopping $90,000 cheaper than the Aventador S. That's a massive difference judging by the numbers only, but I can't say that the Lambo is overpriced. After all, it has the more advanced chassis, newer features inside, and it's quicker too. On the other hand, if lighting-fast acceleration is what turns you on and you don't care about luxury features, you're better of with a Caterham 620R, which you can buy for way less than $100,000, including import taxes.
The 911 Turbo S isn't exactly the kind of car that most Lamborghini buyers would cross-shop with the Aventador, but it's pretty fast and it comes with a well-appointed interior. Not to mention that it's exterior design is already iconic and appealing to a wide array of supercar enthusiasts. Moving on to what makes the Turbo S a machine that both Lambo and Ferrari should be worried about, the 2017-model-year update brought a revised twin-turbo, 3.8-liter flat-six engine that cranks out 580 horsepower and 553 pound-feet of torque. While down by a full 150 horsepower as far as power goes, the 911 Turbo S gets a few extra pound-feet due to forced induction. What's more, when equipped with the Sport Chrono package, it becomes the quickest of the bunch, needing only 2.8 seconds to hit 60 mph from a standing start. Top speed is inferior at 205, but who cares when you can beat both the Aventador and F12berlinetta in a straight line. Of course, the all-wheel-drive system plays a key role here. Another thing that makes the 911 Turbo S a more appealing choice is the $188,100 sticker. It might not have a Ferrari badge, but at this price point, you get a full-fledged supercar without having to rob the bank.
Find out more about the Porsche 911 Turbo S here.
I must confess that I did not expect the Aventador to get too many updates for its mid-cycle refresh. It turns out I was wrong, as Lambo not only made a few minor adjustments, but redesigned the whole aerodynamic system of the car and made major improvements to the chassis, with the most important being the rear-wheel steering system. Not only do these changes make the Aventador a more comfortable car on the road and a quicker racer at the track, but it also puts it a few steps above the F12berlinetta on the technology ladder. Granted, it's a bit pricey by comparison, but if you want the best there is in this segment, the Aventador S is the best option if you have. As long as you're not on a budget, because as I said, the Porsche 911 Turbo S can bring you way more bang for the buck.
* More aggressive front and rear bumpers
* More powerful engine
* Way better aerodynamics
* Rear-wheel steering
* Very expensive compared to the F12berlinetta
October 4, 2016 - Facelifted Lamborghini Aventador caught testing at Nurburgring
July 19, 2016 - First testing session
Ciprian Florea
Senior Editor and Supercar Expert - ciprian@topspeed.com
Ciprian's passion for everything with four wheels (and more) started back when he was just a little boy, and the Lamborghini Countach was still the coolest car poster you could hang on your wall. Ciprian's career as a journalist began long before earning a Bachelor's degree, but it was only after graduating that his love for cars became a profession. Read full bio
The new Lamborghini Aventador S is characterized by new aerodynamic design, redeveloped suspension, increased power and new driving dynamics. The 'S' is the suffix of previous enhanced Lamborghini models and defines a new benchmark for the V12 Lamborghini. "This is the next generation Aventador as well as the expression of new technological and performance milestones in super sports car development," says Automobili Lamborghini Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Stefano Domenicali. "The Aventador S is visionary design, cutting-edge technology and driving dynamics in pure harmony, and elevates the concept of super sports cars to a new level." Design and Aerodynamics The design of the new Aventador S clearly indicates the new Aventador generation.
The Aventador S features a number of exterior developments, particularly in front and rear, while its profile remains clearly an Aventador. Every modified component is redesigned for a purpose, achieving maximum aerodynamic efficiency while accenting the Aventador's complex, muscular dynamism. Furthermore, Lamborghini Centro Stile has intelligently integrated certain elements of past icons, such as the lines of rear wheel arches reminiscent of the original Countach. A more aggressive nose and longer front splitter redirect airflow for better aerodynamic efficiency, improved engine cooling and increased cooling to the radiators. Two air ducts in the side of the front bumper reduce aerodynamic interference from the front tires and optimize wake flow to the rear radiator. The rear of the Aventador S is dominated by a black diffuser, available on request in carbon fiber, characterized by a number of vertical fins that amplify the airflow effects, reduce drag through pressure recovery and generate downforce. Three single exhaust outlets exit through the rear bumper.
The active rear wing is movable in three positions depending on speed and drive select mode, and optimizes the car's improved overall balance, working with vortex generators created in the front and rear of the chassis' underside that maximize air flow as well as assist in brake cooling. The Aventador S design results in significantly enhanced aerodynamic performance. Front downforce has been improved by more than 130% over the previous Aventador coupé. When the wing is in its optimum position the overall efficiency at high downforce is improved by over 50%, and in low drag by more than 400% compared to the previous model.
Four masterpieces evolve driving emotion: Four-wheel drive, new active suspension, new four-wheel steering system and the new EGO driving mode The Aventador S chassis retains the Aventador's unique and extremely rigid lightweight carbon fiber monocoque with attached aluminum frames resulting in a dry weight of just 1,575 kg. The Aventador S is redeveloped around a 'total control concept' to provide a superior drive, ride and performance; every aspect of the car's suspension and electronic control systems has been advanced, with the goal of particularly enhanced control and driving emotion.
Enhanced lateral control comes from new four-wheel steering, adopted for the first time on a series production Lamborghini. The system provides improved agility at low and medium speeds and more stability at high speed. On the front axle it is combined with Lamborghini Dynamic Steering (LDS), tuned for a more natural and responsive feel with a sharper turn-in. It is specially adapted to integrate with the active Lamborghini Rear-wheel Steering (LRS) on the rear axle: two separate actuators react in five milliseconds to driver's steering movements, allowing a real-time angle and cornering stiffness adjustment.
At low speeds, front wheels face in opposite direction to the steering angle, thereby virtually reducing the wheelbase. With less steering wheel angle required, the Aventador S is more agile with a reduced turning radius, ensuring higher performance in curves and making it easy to maneuver in town and at low speeds.
Conversely at higher speeds both front and rear wheels share the same steering angle, thus virtually extending the wheelbase, providing increased stability and optimizing the responsiveness of the car.
Vertical control comes from Lamborghini's updated pushrod and Lamborghini Magneto-rheological Suspension (LMS), with revised kinematics adapted to the new four-wheel steering. New suspension geometry, optimized for Lamborghini Rear-wheel Steering, includes upper and lower arm and wheel carrier to reduce caster and load on the system. A new real-time variable damping system optimizes wheel and body control, and balance and ground stiffness is maximized. New rear springs also enhance the car's balance.
Longitudinal control is achieved via an improved ESC strategy with faster and more precise control of traction control and vehicle dynamics, depending on the driving mode selected. Extensively tested on surfaces such as snow and ice, the Aventador S has improved adhesion detection to maximize grip in all conditions and enhance its handling capabilities. The Aventador S permanent four-wheel drive has been calibrated for the stabilizing effect of the new Lamborghini Rear-wheel Steering, allowing more torque to the rear axle: when powering off the throttle, less torque is shifted to the front axle to allow oversteer behavior and a sporty, but safe drive. Lamborghini engineers have integrated the smart Lamborghini Dinamica Veicolo Attiva (LDVA) control unit to manage these systems in the car. LDVA is the new brain of the car, which receives real time and precise information on body motion via input from all sensors of the car. It instantly defines the best set-up of all active systems in order to guarantee the best vehicle dynamics in each and every condition.
EGO concept – customizable driving modes
The Aventador S allows the driver to select between four different driving modes: STRADA, SPORT, CORSA and the new EGO mode, which influence the behavior of traction (engine, gearbox, 4WD), steering (LRS, LDS, Servotronic) and suspension (LMS). STRADA stands for maximum comfort and daily use. SPORT provides a sporty, rear-wheel drive feel and CORSA is suitable for maximum track performance. EGO is the new driving mode option. This provides several additional and individual set-up profiles, customizable by the driver, selecting his preferred criteria for traction, steering and suspension within the STRADA, SPORT and CORSA settings.
All driving modes have been recalibrated in the Aventador S, improving ESC integration with all-wheel drive and the interface between engine torque management system and traction control reaction. The continuous torque split to front and rear axles in each driving mode is recalibrated for the Lamborghini Rear-wheel Steering and the differentiation between the driving modes is enhanced.
In STRADA, the progressive damping is smoothed for better comfort and stability on rough roads. Torque is split 60/40 to the rear and front as standard: safe and stable with maximum adhesion, the car is easily driven and controlled.
In SPORT mode, the stabilizing effect of the Lamborghini Rear-wheel Steering allows up to 90% torque to the rear wheels for maximum sportiness and driving fun on curving roads. Driving precision and driver feedback is improved, while maintaining safety and without compromising on comfort. When powering off the accelerator, less torque is shifted to the front axle to enhance the car's agility, with oversteer and drifting easy using light throttle and steering wheel control.
In CORSA, drivers experience less intrusive dynamic and traction control intervention while maintaining driving precision and traction. High levels of damping force maximize driver feeling and feedback from driver inputs including steering, braking and throttle. Counter-phase steering is enhanced in high-performance situations and torque is balanced to both axles, with a maximum 80/20 split to rear and front for more neutral behavior and to maximize track-oriented performance.
The engine and exhaust
The Lamborghini Aventador's naturally aspirated twelve cylinder, 6.5 liter engine outputs an additional 40 hp over its predecessor, to a maximum 740 hp, with a 690 Nm of torque at 5,500 rpm. To achieve the power increase, both VVT (Variable Valve Timing) and VIS (Variable Intake System) have been optimized in order to obtain an enriched torque curve. Additionally, the maximum engine revs have been increased from 8,350 to 8,500 rpm. A dry weight of just 1,575 kg provides a weight-to-power ratio of just 2.13 kg/hp. Acceleration from 0-100 km/h is reached in 2.9 seconds, with a top speed of 350 km/h. Transmission is provided by Lamborghini's lightweight Independent Shifting Rod (ISR) 7-speed shifting system, providing robotized gear shifts in up to 50 milliseconds.
The Aventador S adopts a new exhaust system developed as the result of a significant R&D project. More than 20% lighter than its predecessor and the product of testing multiple configurations, the results are an enhanced Lamborghini sound and resonance from the already inimitable V12 aspirated engine, with the three single pipe outlets at the rear of the Aventador S a visual reminder of the new exhaust system.
As in its predecessor, the Aventador S is equipped with a stop-and-start system and cylinder deactivation for optimized engine efficiency. When full engine capacity is not required, six of the twelve cylinders are temporarily deactivated by switching off one cylinder bank. When the driver accelerates, the system switches back instantaneously to twelve-cylinder mode, with the changeover virtually impossible to detect by the driver.
Tires and braking system
The Aventador S sits on a new, specially developed set of Pirelli P Zero tires. Designed to optimize steering, traction, lane changes and braking efficiency, the tires are specifically designed to respond to the dynamic behavior induced by the Lamborghini Rear-wheel Steering, ensuring handling consistency and driver feedback. With improved force generation from both front and rear tires, the Pirelli P Zero tires provide a higher lateral acceleration and reduce understeer characteristics. Carbon ceramic brakes are standard equipment for the Aventador S. The ventilated and perforated carbon ceramic discs (Ø 400 x 38 mm – Ø 380 x 38 mm) enhance braking performance from 100 km/h to standstill in 31 m.
Aventador S – a driver's environment
The cockpit of the Aventador S brings new functionality and refinement. A new TFT digital dashboard can be customized according to the driver's preferences, with different kombi screens for STRADA, SPORT and CORSA in conjunction with the EGO mode. Selected from the driving modes options on the control panel, the EGO button reveals further options on pop-up digital screens, allowing the driver to choose his preferred settings.
AppleCarPlay comes as a standard specification, allowing the cockpit's occupants to manage voice activated communications and entertainment from personal Apple devices.
The interior specification of the Aventador S is virtually limitless through Lamborghini's Ad Personam customization program.
Price of the Lamborghini Aventador S and market delivery The first customers will take delivery of the new Lamborghini Aventador S in Spring 2017 at suggested retail prices as follows: Europe: EUR 281.555,00 (suggested retail price taxes excluded) UK: GBP 225.955,00 (suggested retail price taxes excluded) USA: USD 421.350,00 (suggested retail price – GGT included) China: RMB 6.739.673,00 (suggested retail price taxes included) Japan: YEN 41.578.179,00 (suggested retail price taxes included)
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Cars / Lamborghini / Lamborghini Aventador / Supercars / Convertible


The weather can change fast in the Finger Lakes. This scene, looking southward on the lake, caught my eye as the sun was creating dancing sparkles on the surface.
By the time I set up my gear and was ready to go, a storm was forming at the south end of the lake. What an opportunity – and a time for haste!
Sky and water went in quickly as did the distant land masses. By the time I was finished, the storm had gotten closer, so it was time to pack up and leave, also with haste!
This finished "en plein air" painting ended up being a unique depiction of a dramatic weather change.


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Dutch royals release new photo for Princess Catharina-Amalia's 16th birthday
© RVD - Erwin Olaf
The Dutch Royal Family has released a new photo of Princess Catharina-Amalia for her 16th birthday. The Princess of Orange – as she is known officially as the heir to the throne – was born on 7 December 2003.
© RVD – Z.M. de Koning.
The photo was taken by her father King Willem-Alexander in the gardens of their home Huis Ten Bosch, near The Hague.
When Willem-Alexander succeeded his mother on 30 April 2013, his eldest child automatically became Princess of Orange as the title no longer differentiated between a male or female heir. Catharina-Amalia is the first woman to hold the title in her own right, despite the Netherlands having had three Queens regnant before her.
She was baptised on 12 June 2004 with Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, Baroness Rengers-Deane, Prince Constantijn, Martin Zorreguieta, Herman Tjeenk Willink and Marc ter Haar as godparents. Her full name is Catharina-Amalia Beatrix Carmen Victoria. Catharina-Amalia and her sisters attend mayor functions, such as King's Day and the press moments.
Catharina-Amalia's first major function, as well as her sisters', was their grandmother's abdication and their father's accession. Catharina-Amalia was just ten years old at the time. She has been attending a school like a regular child since 2007. She reportedly already speaks two languages, and she speaks some Spanish, no doubt taught to her by her mother! She will assume a seat in the Advisory Division of the Council of State of the Netherlands upon reaching the age of majority at 18 and is expected to become Queen regnant someday.
See all the photos released as part of the happy announcement the Hereditary Grand Ducal Couple of Luxembourg are expecting their first child
Princess Beatrice encourages others to 'be authentic'

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Hi! I have a mesh landscape that I made in cinema4d. I've exported an .fbx to untiy, but it won't let me paint grass on the mesh. How can I convert this mesh to a terrain in unity 5? I found some scripts for older versions, but they aren't working for me.
The thing is, I have no terrain option in the top menu. That's mainly why I can't get the existing script to work.


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Q: Stop pandas to_excel() prepending apostrophe on strings I have a pandas dataframe which has only strings, although some are date strings like '2019-01-01', others are ints or bools as strings such as '1084' and 'FALSE'. When I try to write this to a sheet in an xlsx file I find it is prepending apostrophes in some cases, presumably to stop excel trying to evaluate the dates/ints/bools and so on.
Is there a way to stop this? I need to upload this generated .xlsx to a system which will reject it if these apostrophes are there.
Currently I import a xlsx file as a template which has two sheets and I want to overwrite the 2nd one.
Export code snippet:
exp_dict['ScheduleDetails'] = df
with pd.ExcelWriter(f"{uploads_folder}{name}_FORMATTED.xlsx",engine='xlsxwriter', options={'encoding':'utf-8'}) as writer:
   for k,v in exp_dict.items():
       v.to_excel(writer, sheet_name = k, index = False)

A: Not sure what your problem is but if you want to convertdtypes to str the try this:
  df.astype({'col_name': 'str'})

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Bruno Giorgi (13 August 1905, Mococa – 7 September 1993, Rio de Janeiro) was a Brazilian sculptor, from a small town in the interior of São Paulo state called Mococa. His works are displayed at several national sites. Although born in Brazil he spent much of his youth in Europe as his family returned to Italy when he was six and he did not return to Brazil until 1939.

References

External links
Bruno Giorgi (Wikipedia page in Portuguese has more information)
Works of Bruno Giorgi
Sculptures by Bruno Giorgi

Brazilian people of Italian descent
1905 births
1993 deaths
20th-century Brazilian sculptors
20th-century Brazilian male artists
People from Mococa

fr:Bruno Giorgi

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Al-Faszir (arab.: الفاشر) – miasto w zachodnim Sudanie, na wyżynie Darfur; 266 tys. mieszkańców (2006), stolica Darfuru Północnego. Ośrodek handlowy w regionie zbioru gumy arabskiej; lotnisko.

Miasta w prowincji Darfur Północny


text:
Law Library Act 1994
No. 7 of 1994. The Law Library Act, 1994. 1 ANTIGUA
[ L.S. 1
J.B. Carlisle,
Governor-General.
1 lth August, 1994.
No. 7 of 1994.
AN ACT to provide for the establishment of a Law Library and
other purposes connected therewith.
[ 18th August, 1994 ]
ENACTED by the Parliament of Antigua and Barbuda as
follows-
1. This Act may be cited as the Law Library Act, 1994. short title.
2. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires- Interpretation.
"Board means the Board referred to in section 3 of this Act;
"Financial year" means the financial year of the Govern-
"Law Library" means the Library establishedunder section
3 of this Act;
"legal community" includes members of the judiciary,
attorneys in Government Service and in private practice
and students registered to pursue legal studies at recognised
institutions;
ANTIGUA 2 The Law Library Act, 1994. No. 7 of 1994.
BARB WDA
"Minister" means the Minister responsible for Justice and
Legal Affairs;
"publication" includes a book, periodical, pamphlet, jour-
nal and any other library material.
Establishment of 3. There is hereby established for the benefit of the legal
Library. community a library to be known as the Law Library.
Board to govern 4. (1) For the purpose of goverrh~ the Library established
Library. under section 3 there shall be a Board to be known as the Law
Library Board.
(2) The Board shall be a corporate body with perpetual
succession and a common seal; and shall be capable of holding,
purchasing and otherwise acquiring and disposing of any prop-
erty.
Constitution of the 5. (1) The Board consists of the following persons-
(a) the Attorney General or an attorney employed by the
government and nominated by him;
(b} the senior Puisne Judge or a Puisne Judge nominated
by the Governor-General
(c) the Financial Secretary or in his absence the deputy
Financial Secretary;
d the Law Librarian;
(e) one person nominated by ~ I C Bar Association;
Cf) one person nominated hy h e Chamkr of Com-
merce;
(2) The Minister shall appoint achairinan, who shall serve for
a period of three years and shall at the expiration of such term be
eligible for re-appointment.
(31 Members, other than members specified under subsection
3 ( J ) , (b}, (c ) and (d) shall sene fdr a term of hrez years and, at
the explratmn of such tenn, rnay be ellglble for renomination.
6. The functions of the Board include- Functions of the
Board.
(a) the provision of library services in the discipline of
law to the legal community;
(b) the general administration, control and management
of the Law Library; and
(c) the appointment of theLaw Librarian and the staff of
the Law Library.
(d) the raising of funds and the investment of such funds
of the Board that are not immediately required for the
use of the Board.
7. The property of the Board comprises- Property of the
(a) all the volumes, pamphlets, publications, documents
and property of all kinds whatsoever which prior to
the coming into force of th~s Act, is the property of
the Antigua Law Library established under the Law
Library Act (Cap. 178);
(b) any publication or document which forms part of any
material collected for the purposes of the Law Li-
brary;
(c) apublication or document which is acquired, whether
by donation or purchase for the purposes of the Law
Library; and
(d) any other property acquired by the Board for its
8. (1) The Funds of the Board consist of -
(a) monies provlded by Parliament;
(6) fees and fines pait1 to the Board;
(c) cior~ations In cash made to the Board by a person or
body of person?. or other benefactor;
F u n k of the
d ) the annual '-,rhvript~i~nspadh\ ~nz~mher\of tlli.Laiv
Library;
(e) monies collected by, or paid to, the Board in respect
of the use of the facilities of the Law Library by any
person; and
fl monies paid to the Board in respect of the sale or
disposal of any material of the Board not needed for
the purposes of the Law Library.
A U ~ I ~ and 9. (1) The records and books of account kept by the Law
Annual report. Librarian shall be audited not later than three months after the end
of the financial year by the Director of Audit or an auditor
appointed by him.
(2) The Board shall, at the end of every year submit annual
report together with the audited accounts of the Board prepared
under subsection (1) tc the Minister who shall lay the report and
the audited accounts before Parliament.
Meetings of the 10. (1) The Chairman shall presideat themeetingsof the Board
~ o a r d . and in the absence of the Chairman at ameeting of the Board, the
members present shall appoint one of their number present to
preside at that meeting
(2) Subject to subsection (3), no decision on any matter which, in
the opinion of the person presiding, is a matter of importance for
determination by the Board shall be taken by the Board unless -
(a) not less than three members of the Board are present
at the meeting; and
(b) the three members present vote in favour of the
matter for determination.
(3) Where not less than three members of the Board a g m in
writing on a matter of importance for determination by the Board no
meeting need be held in respect of that matter.
(4) Atdothermetingsofthe Board, the person presiding and two
other members of the Board form the quorum for the meeting.
(5) Where there is an equality of votes on a matter for determina-
tion before the Board at a meeting the person presiding shall have a
second or casting vote.
(6) The Law Librarian shall not vote at any meeting of the Board.
(7) The Board shall, subject to this section, regulate its own
procedure at its meetings.
11. (1) There shall be a Law Librarian who shall be the Law Librarian.
secretary of the Board.
(2) The Law Librarian shall be the professional and technical
adviser to Ithe Board and, subject to the general direction of the
Board, be repxsible -
(a) fix the propbr administration and management of the
Law ~kbrtiry;
(b) for the preparation of the estimates of expenditure of
. the Board;
(c) for the preparation of the annual report on the
operations of the Board;
(d) for the proper keeping oi books of account and all
other records of the Board;
(e) for the acquisition, collection, purchase, organisation
and maintenance of publications;
U) for the development of research aids and services in
12. The Minister may, on the adviace of the Board, make Regulations.
Regulations for -
(a) the opening hours of the Law Library;
(b) the admission to membership of the Law Library of
amember of the Legal Community and of any other
person, the subscriptions payable for membership,
and the method of payment of the subscriptions;
(c) the purchase, preservation and the loan of publica-
tions;
(d) the maintenance of good order in the Law library;
(e) the charging and collection of fees for the use of the
facilities of the Law Library
fl the payment of fines in respect of -
(i) the late return of publication borrowed from
the Law Library; or
(ii) the loss of, or damage to, a publication;
(g) the use of the Law Library by the legal community
and the general public use as a place for academic or
professional study and for research;
(h) sanctions for the infringe~ent by any person of a
provision of the Regulations; and
(i) better and effective administration of this Act.
Repeal 13. The Law Library Act (Cap. 178) is repealed.
Commencement. 14. The Act shall come into force on such day as the Minister
may, by order published in the Gazette, appoint.
Passed the House of Representatives Passed the Senate thisl2th day
this 28th day of June, 1994. of July, 1994.
S. C. Benjamin,
Deputy Speaker.
M. Percival,
S. Walker, S. Walker,
Acting Clerk to House of Representatives. Acting Clerk to the Senate.
Printed ai the Government Pnnting Office, Antigua and Barbuda,
by Mrrperd Charity, G~vernrnent Pnnkr
--By Authority, 19%.
blB 4 . 9 4 i Price $2,66 f


You can use the APIs introduced in this document to perform relevant operations on Container Service.
Before using these interfaces, make sure that you fully understand the instructions, use agreement, and billing method of Container Service.
Cluster Cluster Your container cluster. Multiple applications can be deployed in one cluster.
Node Node One node in your container cluster. Currently, only Elastic Compute Service (ECS) instances are supported.
Project Application A complex application is composed of multiple services. A simplest application might contain only one container.
Service Service A group of containers based on identical images and configurations function as a scalable microservice.
Container Container A runtime instance of Docker container.


Smiling in Second Grade: Currently...It's My Birthday Month!
So I totally missed last month's Currently. Back to School sure was busy this year! But I am back in business. It's my birthday month and I couldn't miss it!
Love this book! It's so cute.
Speaking of birthdays...go enter my Birthday Giveaway!
When I got to the bottom and read "Pumpkin Soup" for some reason I thought you were wanting to eat that and my reaction was "YUM" then I scrolled down! Silly me! Does sound good though- now I will have to check out that book!! Happy fall!
Yay! Happy Birthday, birthday twin!
I found out last night we share the Obama's anniversary too!
Happy bday to you this month...Love that book too. I can relate I feel like I'm over that hump too and things are slowly coming together as the year is kicking in...conferences are just around the corner too.
Happy birthday! from a fellow Friends watcher.
oh.em....gosh!!! clip art flash drive?!?!? I"m sending prayers your way!! lol!!
Good luck with the flash drive! I have had dreams about loosing mine.
I hope your flash drive is fixed soon. My external hard drive died last year, but luckily it was just all the files on my school computer, so I didn't really loose anything! Off to enter your birthday giveaway! I love Hobby Lobby!


The star said she is still mourning the loss of some of her close friends in showbiz.
Singing sensation Chaka Khan has said she is in "very good health", months after checking into rehab to battle her drug addiction.
The 64-year-old Grammy-winner and her sister were encouraged to seek help for their use of prescription drugs by the death of her close friend, singer Prince, a year ago.
She had been using the same medication that led to his death at the age of 57.
But as she embarks on a range of new shows and musical projects, including UK dates, the American star said she is now in a much better place.
The I'm Every Woman star said she has struggled to come to terms with last year's string of celebrity deaths, and is still mourning the loss of high-profile friends she made over the course of her five-decade career.
She continued: "The singers we lost last year was tragic.
"It was very difficult for me and a lot of people and we still have to wrap our heads around the fact that they are no longer walking this Earth.
But Khan, real name Yvette Stevens, is now riding on a fresh wave.
In July she will headline the Friday night show at Henley Festival alongside the likes of Pet Shop Boys and Jess Glynne.
"Music is absolutely still the focus of my life," she said.
"My inspiration has expanded a little bit – I'm not rapping or anything like that, but to me good music is good music.
Describing herself as a "very busy lady", she said she has spent most of 2017 so far working on a project with Joni Mitchell and reacquainting herself with large stadium shows, performing for audiences of up to 25,000 people.
Tickets for the July 5-9 event in Oxfordshire are available from the Henley Festival website.


text:
Connecting ACEs, poverty and trauma: A mum's perspective
Over the next two weeks in Scotland we will see the culmination of a huge amount of work to raise awareness of both ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences) and poverty. On 26 September, over 2,000 families, professionals and policy influencers are...
Thank you players of People's Postcode Lottery
21st September 2018 / Children and families / Policy
Anna O'Reilly, our Assistant Director of Children and Family Services for the East, reflects on how players of People's Postcode Lottery have prevented children from experiencing trauma and distress, protected children's rights and helped children and their families recover from...
Sharing our journey to ACE awareness
Our interim CEO Mary Glasgow shares her thoughts about speaking at the international ACE Aware Nation Conference about Children 1st's journey to become more trauma-informed. In my role leading Children 1st, I regularly find myself having conversations with lots of...
Equal Protection Bill will help achieve ambition of making Scotland best place to grow up
Mary Glasgow, interim Chief Executive, Children 1st, Scotland's national children's charity, said: "We warmly welcome the Children (Equal Protection from Assault) (Scotland) Bill which will amend the archaic law that gives children, the smallest, most vulnerable members of our society,...
Is your child starting school? A head teacher's tips for emotional wellbeing
9th August 2018 / Children and families / Information and advice
As little children across Scotland get ready to start school for the first time, families are making all the final preparations. New uniforms, bags and pencils. But what of the emotional preparations that are needed? We talked to Geraldine Smith,...
Old is the new new for simple summers
30th July 2018 / Guest blog
With August nearly upon us, our volunteer mentor co-ordinator Maggie takes a nostalgic look back to the heatwave of 1976 and suggests some simple activities from back in the day. As someone wrinkly enough to remember the hot, hot summer...
Football is at a crossroads and survivors cannot be ignored any longer
27th July 2018 / Policy / Information and advice / Children and families
Mary Glasgow, Interim Chief Executive, Children 1st writes about the interim report of the review into child sexual abuse in football.
Independent review of sexual abuse in football must be catalyst for change
Mary Glasgow, Interim Chief Executive Children 1st, responds to the interim findings of the independent review of sexual abuse in football.
Honour for child abuse survivor and campaigner
A survivor of child abuse who has made it his life's mission to help other survivors, was recognised at the British Citizen Awards in London last week. Les Newington (61), from Newtown St Boswells, joined Survivors Unite in 2013, a...
Faithful+Gould staff wade through the mud to fundraising success!
A team from property company Faithful+Gould battled torrential rain and testing obstacles at the recent Tough Mudder challenge event at Drumlanrig Castle in Dumfriesshire, raising over £500 for Scotland's national children's charity. Faithful+Gould's Edinburgh Office Manager Katrina Mason, who headed...
How would your child describe you as a dad?
17th June 2018 / Children and families / Information and advice
Dads Worker Niko talks about his work supporting dads in Edinburgh to be the best fathers they can be for their children.


text:
U.S. Embassy in Costa Rica reopens following 'security situation' in Pavas [Updated]
PHOTOS: The American Colony's 56th annual Fourth of July picnic
US Ambassador to Costa Rica: Embassy will remain at forefront of LGBT issues
US Senate (finally) confirms S. Fitzgerald Haney as new ambassador to Costa Rica
Costa Rica not alone as it waits for a new US ambassador
U.S. Embassy conducting consular outreach event in Golfito
The Tico Times January 15, 2020 January 15, 2020
The Great Seal of the United States. (Via the U.S. Embassy.)
The United States Embassy in San José, Costa Rica has announced a consular event to provide routine services for U.S. citizens in Golfito, Puntarenas.
Below is the message from the U.S. Embassy.
To RSVP for passport renewals, notary services, and federal benefits inquiries, please indicate your preference by writing to ACSSanJose@state.gov. Any applicable fees must be paid in cash in Colones. No checks, credit cards, or U.S. dollars can be accepted.
Golfito:
WHEN: Thursday, January 30, 2020
1:30 pm to 2:00 pm: Town Hall for Citizen Services Information
2:00 pm to 4:00 pm: Citizen Services for Passport Renewals, Federal Benefits Inquiries, Voting Assistance, and Notarials.
WHERE: Fish Hook Marina and Lodge
Adult Passport Renewals: 67,700 colones. To be eligible, you must present a 10-year passport that is valid or expired less than five years ago. You will need to submit a DS-82 form and a 2"-by-2" passport photo with a light-colored background. We cannot process applications for lost/stolen passports, or renewals for applicants under age 16. We also cannot accept photos that do not conform to the prescribed standards. Please be sure your photos conform to the official standards found here: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/requirements/photos.html.
To utilize Embassy San Jose's courier return service, go to the below link and complete the online form. The information submitted must match the identity of the applicant and correspond with a recent passport service. https://www.correos.go.cr/webservicios/US_services/
Please include your current phone number and email address, as you will be contacted by Correos de Costa Rica directly once your passport is ready. If the payment is accepted, an invoice will be sent to your email address. Alternatively, you may save your invoice in PDF format for printing.
Upon receipt of your invoice, please forward it to passportreturnsanjose@state.gov to ensure we flag your passport for courier return.
Notary Services: 30,800 colones per seal. The presence of the person requesting the notary and legal proof of identity are required.
Federal Benefits and Voter Assistance: We will also accept applications for replacement Social Security cards and will have informational material on Federal Benefits for Veterans, Dependents, and Survivors, as well as voter registration applications.
To learn more about U.S. Embassy San Jose's American Citizen Services, go to https://cr.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/. You may contact us at ACSSanJose@state.gov.
In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the U.S. Embassy and its consular services will be closed Monday, Jan. 20.
U.S. Embassy in Costa Rica warns of phone fraud
U.S. Embassy safety tips for international tourists and residents in Costa Rica
Embassies advise U.S. citizens to 'keep a low profile' due to Middle East tension
GolfitoU.S. EmbassyU.S. Embassy in San JoséUS Embassy
Costa Rica's Legislative Assembly votes to regulate strikes in response to country-wide protests
Costa Rican firefighters prepare for start of country's wildfire season


text:
OA Library
Browse by Submission Date
Browse Primary Archives
Iron Age Boundaries and Romano-British Settlement at the Unwins Nursery Site, Impington, Cambridgeshire.
Fletcher, Taleyna (2009) Iron Age Boundaries and Romano-British Settlement at the Unwins Nursery Site, Impington, Cambridgeshire. Project Report. Oxford Archaeological Unit Ltd. (Unpublished)
Report1109_FINAL_LR.pdf
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike.
Official URL: http://library.thehumanjourney.net/339
The initial phase of evaluation dealt with the area around the footprint of buildings which had recently been demolished. Following consultation with Cambridgeshire County Councils Archaeology, Planning and Advise (CAPCA) officer, a further two trenches totalling 15m were excavated to establish the depth and potential impact of the buildings on any surviving archaeology. This investigation revealed a number of ditches spanning at least two phases of activity. The first identified phase dated to the Late Iron Age to 1st century AD which comprised mostly large field boundaries. The second phase was slightly later, dating to the mid 1st century to the mid 2nd century AD and sees the re-establishment of these earlier ditches together with a greater density of ditches at the southern end of the site. These ditches, close and almost parallel with the current Impington Lane, contained a large quantity of locally produced sandy courseware storage and cooking vessels which may indicate close proximity to settlement. A brooch and sherd of Samian pottery were amongst the other finds from this pha
Monograph (Project Report)
Period > UK Periods > Iron Age 800 BC - 43 AD > Late Iron Age 100 BC - 43 AD
Period > UK Periods > Roman 43 - 410 AD
Geographical Areas > English Counties > Cambridgeshire
Chris Faine
OA Library is provided by Oxford Archaeology and powered by EPrints 3 which is developed by the School of Electronics and Computer Science at the University of Southampton. More information and software credits.
Unless otherwise indicated, all material is provided under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 license.


text:
Slow Progress for Peace Negotiations in Colombia
Megan Stagman
After over three years of peace negotiations in Havana, between the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People's Army (FARC) and the Colombian government, the 23rd of March was the deadline set for a final agreement. However, despite visible and very encouraging progress, it seems that the conclusion of Latin America's longest-running civil war is not here just yet.
The peace process is certainly underway, most importantly in that FARC announced its unilateral ceasefire in July last year and the government vowed to end air strikes on FARC camps. The ongoing negotiations in Cuba that commenced in November 2012 have also attracted international congratulation and endorsement, perhaps most so in the case of the U.S.
'Plan Colombia', launched in 2000, entailed large quantities of American military aid donation that aimed to assist in the implementation of a peace deal. More recently, Obama announced last month that, up from the prior $325 million of donation, he would launch 'Peace Colombia' and be asking the U.S. Congress for $450 million in aid for the war-devastated nation, supporting demining, humanitarian and counter-narcotics projects. In his meeting with Colombian president, Juan Miguel Santos, at the White House, the American president promised that the U.S. would be "your partner in waging peace" and that it was "an incredible moment of promise" for the resolution of conflict.
Obama's seemingly good intentions have come under heavy criticism from various theorists, however, with Dr. Adrienne Pine of American University referring to this latest scheme as an "Orwellian obfuscation", and blaming its predecessor for only further contributing to the violence. A number of advocates for non-intervention have seen American inclusion in the peace process as little more than a further example of the global hegemon reasserting its influence over the Southern hemisphere. Even the former Colombian president, Alvaro Uribe Velez, has appealed to the United States to rethink its support for the peace talks, although, with admittedly alternative motivations. He has instead called for the extradition of FARC members to the U.S. on drug trafficking charges.
It seems that there are greater concerns at hand, however, primarily in that UN envoy to Colombia, Fabrizio Hochschild, has said that the peace agreement may not be finalized by its March deadline after all, hoping instead that agreement might be reached 'in the first half of this year'. Although Hochschild describes this "very difficult stage" as the "last kilometer of a marathon", it seems that there are a number of obstacles yet to be overcome. Firstly, Colombia and the FARC are yet to agree on the details of disarmament and the manner in which the final accord will be ratified. While Santos wishes to put the peace deal to a popular vote, FARC wants it passed by a constituent assembly. Additionally, former agriculture minister, Juan Camilo Restrepo, who helped to draft a rural reform deal with the guerrillas, said last week that the government would not be able to deliver the land reform measures agreed upon. Considering that land reform has been a key point of contention throughout the talks, Restrepo's warning does not bode well.
Furthermore, despite some form of progress with the FARC, negotiations with the second largest rebel group in the country, the National Liberation Army (ELN), seem to have stalled. Although much smaller in size than FARC, with around 2,000 armed fighters, they could still put the peace of the country in jeopardy. The rebel group has recently increased its presence and started attacks in areas that were traditionally under control of FARC. Last month saw an ELN-imposed 72-hour shutdown and a wave of attacks against military, police and infrastructure in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the death of their charismatic co-founder, Camilo Torres.
With these issues threatening to undermine the incredible progress that has been made, it seems that international observers must simply hold their breath and hope that after a quarter of a million people dead and millions displaced, the imminent end for five decades of civil war may still be in sight.
Latest posts by Megan Stagman (see all)
Bemba's Conviction Illustrates Innovation in the ICC - March 22, 2016
Slow Progress for Peace Negotiations in Colombia - March 7, 2016
2016: An Opportunity for Change in India-Pakistan Relations? - January 3, 2016
"Total Peace" Still Far Away: Can Petro's Plan Really Save Colombia?
The Colombian government has started further peace negotiations with the National Liberation Army (E.L.N.) as part of the Total Peace Plan enacted by President Gustavo
An End In Sight: Colombia And The E.L.N. Talk Peace After 60 Years Of Conflict
Peace talks between the Colombian government and the country's largest rebel group began in Venezuela last month after 60 years of conflict. The National Liberation
After Lethal Shootings At Protests, Reform Comes To Colombia's Police Force
Following multiple reports of human rights violations and dozens of gun violence deaths, Colombia's national police force will institute a training program in conjunction with


Any additions you'd like to make let me know and I'll add it.
Garbage bag/suit bag to cover your costume as your transport it.
**Women AND Men need to have make-up packed. Have face powder to stop the shine or concealer to hide a face scar if you don't want it to show.
*** TWO sources. Don't carry all of your cash on you. the hotel has a safe in your room, use it! Carry 1/2 your daily spending on you. You might get a hole in your pocket or you drop it, you don't want to leave yourself screwed. Have a debit card or a credit card [even if it is your parents, ask for premission to hold onto first] IN CASE OF EMERGENCY don't leave yourself stranded.
I'm gonna bring a bag for my merchandise.
I'm always worried about forgetting stuff at ACen. I actually have nightmares about it. Printing out this list and using it when I pack, thanks.
I find everyone is different, but I guess this list isn't really set in stone. I find my list is so much shorter and as for two sources of income, if youre responsible you can curb check your spending. I spent maybe around 130-140 on merchandise and about 20-30 on food. A total of about 150-170.
Really it boils down to responsibility and tight fisted management.
Yes money management is the key. It's just a habit I have when spending at cons, 1/2 cash 1/2 card. Keep a large portion in the safe and take what I need when I need it.
Also it the list is really geared toward people staying the whole weekend/people going out of state/really forgetful people that want to have a general checklist of anything possibly needed.
I do pretty much what SongstressLenne does. With money I know before hand how much cash in total I am bringing (roughly 300 dollars). I'll keep a spare 100 in a special place that I will not be tempted to get at and that money will not be spent at all throughout ACen. Then with the 200 dollars I take out 50 for food for the weekend for myself and have that 150 to go crazy and buy whatever I want with. I also have my debit card which will be used after that special 100 is gone so its only used when I absolutely need it. I give myself room to move with my money but keep it on track.
Also, I like to group like items: for instance, laptop, laptop charger or camera, camera battery, camera memory card etc That way I'm reminded to pile them together when packing them, since one is often no good without the other, and I don't want to have to dump out every bag looking for a part.
Yes, going anywhere more than a 2 hour drive requires a LIST! It's also great for RE-packing to leave... there's nothing worse than realizing something was left in the hotel room when you're 3 hours away.
Agreed, I usually make a re-pack list so as not to forget any thing. Maybe I missed it, but what about regular clothes, not just to keep warm, for the on a budget, bring a coffee maker for large groups or just to heat water for noodles. Also for smokers & drinkers, it's cook county, so tax is bad. I'd like to add bobby pins too, for wigs.
She's got it under Clothing - it just starts w/ all cosplay gear, but the rest isn't cosplay clothing.
Yes, water kettle if you have one is great.
A huge chunk of that is normally on my list! You saved me an hour of thinking and typing!
That's way more than I ever take I believe.
I'd suggest extra lighters, as you never know when you'll drop yours and it breaks, or you lose it.
* Garbage bag/suit bag to cover your costume as your transport it.
I think you should have placed soap on the list more than once. it seems people still forget it.
Don't worry the ACen Merch booth will be selling some!!!
I live only about an hour away from the con, but trust me I've forgotten things and had to either run home or have my mom drop things off late Thursday night. Or worse not realizing I forgot something until Friday morning and then freak out.
Check any of the above if the container says an amount greater then 3.4oz. a half empty 4oz bottle can not be carried onto a plane. Also what ever 3.4oz liquid containers you carry on must if into one quart-sized, clear, plastic, zip-top bag.
Do not check batteries, for spares not in original packaging type over the terminal with non-metallic type (electrical is best) and place in individual plastic bags.
Your liquor supply -- checked luggage only and it is a bad idea at that.
Unless you are on SWA, JBU or are a elite member of an airline you will be paying for checked luggage so pack carefully. Airlines are cracking down of the size of carry-on bags now in general the rule is one personal item (purse, computer case, other small item) and a bag with the maximum dimensions of 22" x 14" x 9".
Thanks so much Lenne! I'm a very forgetful person, and I always think I got everything, and then I get to the place, and be like, "&^&*^&^*&^*&^*&^!"
-shop at the dollar store before going to ACen for your toothbrushes, paste, hair care etc. It makes things easier to pack to return home. You can just throw the things away and it gives more room for the items bought at the con.
My friend and I live about five hours away from ACen... We really don't want to forget anything.
Thanks for the list! Definitely going to print it out.
If only we could reserve the hotel yet lol. But that list holds true and honestly I agree pajamas(sp?) should be on the list as I made that mistake when I was responsible for a room a about 4-5 years ago. I forgot everything but my toothbrush and cash and my costume. This is what happens when room mates are in a rush to get to the con. At least they had the contact lense solution so I could borrow that. But I spent 3 days in my saturn costume, taking it off only to shower. I sent out my costume to be dry cleaned and had to sit in the hotel room in a towel until it was brought back. I was not about to wear it again until it was cleaned. This was pre being able to get febreeze bottles and to be honest it was not comfortable sleeping with a bow in the back either.
Now I make sure everyone checks everyone else's lists before we leave for the con.
It helps to remember to make a list right after the convention to see what everyone has forgotten to bring and what was never needed to be brought in the first place. Both me and my friend plan during the week of the convention to see what we need if we don't have the item(s)yet and slowly start packing so by the day before ACen starts all we do is pack a few things, meet up and check into the hotel.


Gonsalves' announcement has given renewed impetus to the speculation about his possible successor as leader of the ULP. That includes scrutiny of possible contenders, among them Foreign Minister Camillo Gonsalves, son of the Prime Minister. The younger Gonsalves has been the object of many attacks by persons in the Opposition, not for alleged sins of commission, but purely on the basis that he is the son of the PM who, it is alleged, is trying to foist him on the country, as in a dynasty. It is a pity that Senator Gonsalves is not being judged on merit as to what contribution he can make to the country and his own capabilities; but that is another matter.
Even before we speculate on who could or could not become prime minister, given the impending elections, perhaps we should pay some attention to the matter of parliamentary representation itself. On what basis should we be choosing parliamentary representation? Should we give more consideration to ability to represent the interests of the people of a particular constituency, or should the issue of how capable is that person to hold higher office be the major factor? Should we marry the two, and if so, how much weight should be given to one or the other?
These are questions which contending political parties must answer internally, as they prepare to select candidates to contest general elections. Fortunately, in recent times, the selection of candidates has become more open, if not always lucidly transparent. There are now even open contests, our own version of what are called "primaries" in the USA, to select candidates; though, politics being what it is, subterfuge is not unknown. It is a process to which we should all pay particular attention, for it is not just voting for a candidate on election day, but importantly trying to ensure that we get quality choices on polling day.
The Constitutional Review Commission (CRC) had published a booklet in September 2004, as part of its contribution to the discussion on constitutional reform, which was entitled CHOICES FOR CHANGE. The title is an appropriate guide towards how we should view our selections, first as candidates, and secondly as elected representatives of the people. We can no longer afford to be entertaining candidates nor electing representatives who are not suitable vehicles for positive developmental change. We are in the 21st century, not just emerging from adult suffrage and the quality of the choices before us will have a huge bearing on the type of representation and government we get.
It is to be hoped that both parties would take their responsibilities seriously in this regard, thereby facilitating the lifting of the national game. Rabble-rousing may be useful on the hustings, but it contributes little to the enrichment of the national debate in Parliament or providing enlightened leadership. There are ambitious persons who believe that being "popular' in a constituency is by itself enough reason for being a viable candidate and persons, with little links with people or record of service to the community, who believe that educational and professional qualification are all. We need to go further than that, as we shall see in the concluding part of this article next week.


New Delhi: Tempers ran high in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday with members demanding a response from Union home minister Rajnath Singh on the flare-ups caused by the introduction of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016. This comes just a day after northeast India witnessed sporadic violence over the bill. The bill was passed in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, but could not be tabled in the Upper House on Wednesday.
Singh told the Rajya Sabha that the burden of supporting migrants will not be borne by Assam or even the northeast alone.
"This is not just for Assam or the northeast, but is valid for all states and Union Territories as well. Neither is this for people of one particular country. This amendment is for migrants who have come through eastern and western borders and are staying in different parts of India. The responsibility will not be Assam's alone and whatever steps are needed to be taken, the Centre will take," said the home minister.
Singh also informed the House that the purpose of the bill was to provide Indian citizenship to those who had been forced to seek shelter in India because of religious persecution or fear of persecution in their home countries, primarily Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis, and Christians from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.
"There seem to be some misgivings that have been spread with regard to the bill. I want to assure the House that this is not just for Assam. For the benefit of the people of Assam, our government is taking all measures to ensure that the Assam Accord is implemented effectively," he said.
Citizenship will only be given to people after scrutiny and recommendation of district authorities and the state governments, the home minister said.
The bill was introduced in 2016 and was later sent to a joint parliamentary committee, which submitted its report on Monday.


Your uncle retired in 2001 and thought that his Rs 30,000 monthly pension would suffice for the rest of his life. Today, that money roughly buys a third of what it bought then*. No wonder he is always complaining of inflation. But that's the damage inflation does—silently devouring your money.
Inflation keeps devouring your money even when it grows through your investments. As a result, you end up saving less than what you need.
If your investment provides an annual return of 7% and the inflation is 7%, your money is effectively not growing, after adjusting for the impact of inflation.
To secure your future, you need to beat the inflation but the question is how.
The answer to beating inflation lies is making investments that grow well. The good news is that you can do that by easily investing in equities. Over long periods of 8-10 years or more, equities typically grow faster than alternative investments such as debt investments like fixed deposits (FD) and real estate. In the last 15 years, equities as represented by BSE benchmark stock index, Sensex, grew at 16.11%** annually.
Individuals typically do not have the time or the expertise or time to invest in equities. That is why unit linked insurance plans (ULIPs) from life insurance companies come in so handy. By investing in them, you get to invest in equities and avail of the expertise of expert fund managers.
To sum up, inflation maybe your constant enemy but you can take the bite out of it with typically high growth investments. In ULIPs, you have a weapon to protect the growth of your money.


text:
Ananteris ehrlichi est une espèce de scorpions de la famille des Buthidae.

Distribution
Cette espèce est endémique du département de Caquetá en Colombie.

Description
Le mâle décrit par Botero-Trujillo et Flórez en 2011 mesure .

Étymologie
Cette espèce est nommée en l'honneur de Paul Ralph Ehrlich.

Publication originale
 Lourenço, 1994 : « Scorpions Chelicerata de Colombie. 6. Quatre nouvelles especes de Buthidae des regions amazonienne, sud-pacifique et de la cordillere orientale. » Revista de la Academia Colombiana de Ciencias Exactas Fisicas y Naturales, , ,  (texte intégral).

Liens externes
 The Scorpion Files : Jan Ove Rein, Trondheim, Norwegian University of Science and Technology

Notes et références

Buthidae
Espèce de scorpions (nom scientifique)
Faune endémique de Colombie


text:
Q: Styled components component selector not working on mouse hover I'm trying to build that behavior illustrated by the following GIF on mouse hover.

The user can make the red selection by using the Arrow keys, but on mouse hover, I want to hide the red selection and show only the mouse hover green selection.
Code Sandbox Example
It is working, so far.
But somehow it breaks when I try to use the component selector: ${S.UserLi}, which is the name of my styled component for each li. It only works when I select general li items, like you can see in the following code (Sandbox link above).
QUESTION
How can I make it work using my component selector ${S.UserLi} ?
S.MentionDiv = styled.div`
  max-width: 200px;
  height : auto;
  overflow: hidden;
  background-color: lightblue;
  padding: 5px;
  box-sizing: border-box;
  ul {
    margin: 0;
  }
  &:hover {
    li { background-color: inherit; } /* THIS WORKS */
    /* ${S.UserLi} { background-color: inherit; } */ /*THIS DOESN'T*/
  }
`;

S.UserLi = styled.li`
  background-color: ${props => props.selected ? 'red' : 'inherit'};
  &&:hover { /* Added two && to make it higher priority over hover on MentionDiv */
    background-color:lightgreen;
    user-select: none;
  }
`;

This is the main component:
function App() {
  return (
    <S.MentionDiv>
      <S.UserLi>
        User 1
      </S.UserLi>
      <S.UserLi
        selected={true}
      >
        User 2
      </S.UserLi>
      <S.UserLi>
        User 3
      </S.UserLi>
    </S.MentionDiv>
  );
}


Weather-Tech Roofing & Waterproofing was founded and is operated with pride in ownership.
We deliver solid roofing and waterproofing solutions while providing an excellent customer service experience from start to finish. Understanding that each building has unique characteristics, we are committed to quality workmanship, superior products, and exceptional customer service.
Repair, restoration, or replacement…our objective is to help maintain and improve the value of your property.
Weather-Tech Roofing & Waterproofing provides solutions to extend the life of your roof and protect your building and what's inside.
We put together a highly-qualified team working with state-of-the-art equipment, managed by experienced professionals so that you can be confident that each project is handled with the expertise you need.
Before deciding to launch Weather-Tech Roofing & Waterproofing, Bob Fitzgerald, the company's founder worked in the South Florida roofing and waterproofing industry for over 30 years. His first-rate reputation and valuable relationships have allowed him to bring together the most skilled craftsmen with strong work ethics to offer roofing and waterproofing system repair, restoration, and replacement services for office, industrial, retail, and institutional clients.
Through continuing education and training, the Weather-Tech team stays up-to-date on current technology and products that make up the roof system and building envelope.
You can expect our staff to be professional, courteous, cost conscious, and time sensitive. You'll find we are reliable and accessible. We are not just concerned with our clients, we consider your clients. Our entire crew receives regular and extensive training to protect your building and ensure the safety of everyone around your project.
Weather-Tech Roofing & Waterproofing is licensed with the State of Florida and fully insured with excess coverage of five million dollars to protect projects of all sizes.


I am grateful for the opportunity to be here today, and I want to thank Minister Tchango for the invitation. And thank you to all of you for coming out today. Your attendance – and your hard work – is a testament to the commitment between the United States and Gabon to deepen our economic partnership and grow our commercial relationship to bring shared prosperity to both of our countries. I am thrilled that the United States and Gabon will co-host the 2015 African Growth and Opportunity Act Forum here in Libreville.
For 14 years, AGOA has been one of the United States' primary tools to develop active partnerships and push forward greater trade and investment in Africa. And AGOA has been a clear success. Partly thanks to AGOA, Africa is diversifying its economies, creating new opportunities for private businesses and private investment, creating jobs, and bringing new prosperity to its citizens. Exports to the United States under AGOA were over USD 25.5 billion in 2014, and non-oil exports have grown by a factor of four since AGOA began in 2001. And AGOA-related investment has resulted in the creation of over 300,000 jobs in sub-Saharan Africa.
At the AGOA Forum in Washington last August, Secretary of State John Kerry celebrated the program's many successes. From cocoa and cashew-producers in Ghana to textile manufacturers and workers in Mauritius, AGOA has empowered workers and businesspeople across the continent.
AGOA creates new partnerships. As just one example, Ford Motor Company now produces and exports engines duty-free from South Africa thanks to an investment of more than 300 million dollars, creating jobs both in South Africa and in the United States. We want AGOA to create active partnerships of this kind here in Gabon.
The 2015 AGOA Forum in Libreville will be a great opportunity to highlight and deepen the economic partnership between the United States and Gabon. It is also a great opportunity for you to show off everything Gabon has to offer to investors – a government that aims to create a friendly and open business and investment environment, a highly educated population, an emerging entrepreneurial class, a strategic location in a dynamic region, and a wealth of natural resources.
As a commercial partner, a source of investment, a market for Gabonese goods, and as a good friend, the United States is elated to co-host the 2015 AGOA Forum with you. We look forward to continuing to work with you to ensure the Forum is a resounding success.
Thank you for your time. And let me wish all Gabonese women, particularly our partners in the community of women entrepreneurs, a happy Gabonese Women's Day tomorrow.


It's been well documented by the likes of Steve Blank and Clayton Christensen that if you want explore disruptive innovation in a large company, you have to either redesign or create parallel processes, systems and values internally in order up to support behaviours critical to innovation — think moving fast and rapid experimentation. Failing that, taking innovation outside of the building by spinning out a company with its own processes, systems and values is par for the course.
But the kicker here is to not treat the spin off as an independent startup, otherwise you might be better off simply setting up a corporate venture capital arm to invest in startups.
A more powerful approach is to leverage your relative strengths to mutual benefit.
A large corporate will bring domain expertise, networks, distribution channels, customers and resources to the table.
The spin-off or startup will be unencumbered by reputational risk or the watchful eye of regulators which slows down corporates. It will also bring rapid experimentation, emerging tech and business models to the table. Bonus: it might prove a much more compelling workplace for emerging talent, aiding companies in their quest for talent acquisition.
Together, you've got a formula for success. So, where to from here?
No doubt you have heard of the business model canvas — a tool popularised by Alex Osterwalder and later appropriated by Ash Maurya who turned it into the lean canvas.
The business model canvas effectively breaks a business into building blocks such as distribution channels, customer segments, customer relationships, key partners, value propositions, resources, activities, costs and revenue models. It's often used by startups in the early stages of building a business in place of a traditional business plan in order to get moving quickly and start testing assumptions. The canvas has also been gaining more prominence amongst corporate innovation teams.
However, it has applications beyond simply mapping out a starting point for a proposed business — it can help us identify how large corporates and their spinoff entities and even startups can best work together.
Step 1 — The spin-off or startup completes a business model canvas. Easy and familiar enough.
Step 2 — The large company or a business unit therein completes a business model canvas (or multiple canvases for different business units).
Step 3 — Map the spin-off or startup's canvas over the corporate's business model canvas and identify any overlaps (no dissimilar to a good old fashioned venn diagram, below).
That bit in the middle — that's where a corporate can help a spin-off or a startup.
Suppose it's 2008 and Southwest Airlines wants to diversify by exploring emerging business models in the travel industry and decides to partner with an up and coming startup from SF called Airbnb.
Their respective business model canvases at the time might look a little something like this (at a very high level for simplicity's sake).
Very quickly we've identified a number of potential synergies.
Online bookings: As a startup, it's IT infrastructure may be ill equipped to scale and support growing traffic and demand. There may be scope to share or leverage some of Southwest's infrastructure in this space.
24/7 support: Notwithstanding its budget model, Southwest may or may not be able to provide some level of customer support to aid the development of Airbnb's brand, one of its key Customer Relationship strategies.
By identifying where the overlap is we can identify who in the large corporate we need to be working with to help us accelerate customer testing, leverage partnerships, increase reach and ultimately increase our chances of finding product market fit, today.
The lesson here is not only to look for synergies once you've spun out a new company or invested in a startup, but to use this as a method to identify partnership opportunities where you can help in some fundamental way before your organisation take the plunge. This way, you'll bring 'smart money' to the table and get some quick wins on the board that will help to rally the organisation around innovation efforts.
When it comes to early stage innovation, companies that learn the fastest win and by taking this approach to effectively leverage synergies that a large corporate can bring, corporate spin-offs and their startup partners are far more likely to succeed.


The activities undertaken under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act in Chitradurga district, Karnataka, were assessed for their potential to enhance and provide environmental services. Key programmes implemented in 20 villages during 2009 were studied using rapid scientific assessment methods. An indicator approach was adopted to analyse environmental services such as water for irrigation and improvement in soil quality. The status of environmental services before and after implementation of the activities was examined and vulnerability indices were constructed and compared. The activities were found to have reduced the vulnerability of agricultural production, water resources and livelihoods to uncertain rainfall, water scarcity and poor soil fertility.


text:
By Lisa Ellen Niver
Our Honeymoon in the Cook Islands
December 20-January 4
After our direct flight from Los Angeles to Roratonga, Cook Islands, we met Diana and Kit from The Backpackers Handbook who are Aitutaki veterans. Following their recommendations, we spent an amazing day on the gorgeous lagoon with Teking Tours. The tour is the BEST thing on the island.
We loved it so much we went AGAIN with Kirsten and Stuart from New Zeland and there were 3 other couples out with Teking again. He varies the tour if you have already done it once so you snorkel in 4 new locations. The views, the lunch, the entire day was amazing. After seven years working onboard for Princess Cruises, it takes a lot to impress me on a snorkel and lagoon tour. This is one of the best in all the seven seas!
Another highlight was the village dancing and "telethon" for the holidays, one village dances in all the other villages to raise money for town repairs. More Cook Islanders live in New Zealand than on the islands and they all come home for the holidays.
This dream destination was a perfect honeymoon. We took in New Year's Eve at Sails Beach Club at Muri Beach complete with Fireworks over the water! Happy New Year! We hope all your dreams come true.
We enjoyed meeting Kirsten and Stuart and his great idea to always bring Kirsten flowers!
To see all the adventures from our trip, click the link for our photobook:
Enjoy our photos! Lisa and George
To see more posts go to http://wesaidgotravel.blogspot.com/
Red Goddess Rising by Halle Eavelyn
Advance Women, Advance Equality with Shelley Zalis from The Female Quotient
Why did I love The Lake Club at The Ritz-Carlton, Lake Tahoe?
In Westside Today: Local Brentwood Science Teacher Does Good
Lisa Ellen Niver
Lisa Ellen Niver, M.A. Education, is a science teacher and is an award-winning travel expert who has explored 101 countries and six continents. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, she worked on cruise ships for seven years and backpacked for three years in Asia. You can find her talking travel at KTLA TV and in her We Said Go Travel videos with over 1.3 million views on her YouTube channel. As a journalist, Niver has interviewed an Olympic swimmer and numerous bestselling authors and has been invited to both the Oscars and the United Nations. She is the founder of We Said Go Travel which is read in 235 countries and was named #3 on Rise Global's top 1,000 Travel Blogs. She was named both a Top 10 Travel Influencer and a Top 50 Female Influencer for 2021 by Afluencer and is the Social Media Manager for the Los Angeles Press Club. She has been nominated for the inaugural Forbes 50 over 50/Know Your Value list due out in Summer 2021. She has hosted Facebook Live for USA Today 10best and has more than 150,000 followers across social media. Niver is a judge for the Gracies Awards for the Alliance of Women in Media and has also run 15 travel competitions publishing over 2,500 writers and photographers from 75 countries on We Said Go Travel. For her print and digital stories as well as her television segments, she has been awarded two Southern California Journalism Awards and two National Arts and Entertainment Journalism Awards. From 2017 to 2021 in the Southern California Journalism Awards and National Arts and Entertainment Journalism Awards, she has won four times for her broadcast television segments, print and digital articles. Niver won in 2021 as Book Critic and in 2019 for one of her KTLA TV segments NAEJ (National Arts and Entertainment Journalism) award. Niver won an award for her print magazine article for Hemispheres Magazine for United Airlines in the 2020 Southern California Journalism Awards and a 2017 Southern California Journalism Award for her print story for the Jewish Journal. Niver has written for National Geographic, USA Today 10best, TODAY, Teen Vogue, POPSUGAR, Ms. Magazine, Luxury Magazine, Smithsonian, Sierra Club, Saturday Evening Post, AARP, American Airways, Delta Sky, En Route (Air Canada), Hemispheres, Jewish Journal, Myanmar Times, Robb Report, Scuba Diver Life, Ski Utah, Trivago, Undomesticated, Wharton Magazine and Yahoo. She is writing a book, "Brave(ish): It's All About Perspective 50 Adventures Before 50," about her most recent travels and insights. When she's not SCUBA diving or in her art studio making ceramics, she's helping people find their next dream trip. http://lisaniver.com/one-page/


text:
Now Reading: Perry's Self-Defeating Secrecy
Perry's Self-Defeating Secrecy
Avoiding tough questions won't fly in a national campaign
Dave Mann Aug 18, 2010, 8:45 pm CST
It's common for incumbent politicians with a comfortable lead in the polls to avoid public questioning. The idea is to limit the number of debates, press conferences, and unscripted moments—and any opportunity for your opponent or the press to hit you with tough questions, and reduce the chances of an election-changing gaffe. It's called running out the clock, and it's a tried and true political tactic.
But Rick Perry might be taking it to new levels:
—He's thus far refused to schedule a debate with his Democratic opponent Bill White, despite the challenger's best efforts to goad him into it.
—The Perry campaign has also announced the governor will not meet with newspaper editorial boards during the campaign.
—And the capital press corps is getting precious few opportunities to ask questions of the governor. Most of Perry's events these days are nowhere near Austin, where many of the state's political reporters are based. That means anyone wanting to ask Perry an unscripted question has to travel with the campaign (and the campaign decides who gets to ride along) or trail Perry on their own, all private eye-like, as an Observer reporter did back in 2006.
The Houston Chronicle's R.G. Ratcliffe recently scored a few minutes with the governor for a short Q and A. And Perry met briefly with reporters after his speech to the Texas Broadcasters Association last week.
But those are rare exceptions. Most capital reporters have a better chance of landing an interview with Thomas Pynchon than sitting down with this state's highest public servant.
This approach may be good politics—if Perry's lone goal is another term as Texas governor. But there are two potential problems with Perry walling himself off from public debate and questioning.
No. 1, it does the public a disservice. Voters, of course, deserve to hear from their elected officials about important issues facing the state—through televised debates, news conferences, and meetings with reporters and opinion makers.
The second problem is political. If Perry has ambitions for higher office, then this avoidance of the press is also doing him a disservice. If Perry campaigns for national office, he won't likely get away with continually sidestepping reporters. The national media doesn't react well to that.
Moreover, the candidates in the GOP presidential primary will likely face off in numerous debates, and Perry would be wise to practice his debating skills on a small stage by taking on Bill White. Responding to tough questions and hostile opponents under the hot lights isn't easy. And if Perry lets those skills atrophy, he's likely to be embarrassed in a future presidential debate.
No one can force Perry to debate White or make himself more available to the press. But constantly shielding himself from public scrutiny not only robs voters of unfiltered access to their governor, but also harms Perry's prospects for national office.
Dave Mann is a former editor of the Observer.
Texas Legislative Session Begins With Heavy Security Presence Following U.S. Capitol Riot
Lawmakers gathered for the start of the 140-day session Tuesday as the coronavirus continues to rage in Texas. by Patrick Svitek, The Texas Tribune
Lege in the Time of Coronavirus
An uncontrolled pandemic. An economic crisis. A bruising loss for Democrats. The Texas Legislature is back in session. by Justin Miller
Editorial: Look Down Ballot for Democratic Wins in Texas
The GOP-controlled state Legislature reconvenes next week. But Democrats flipped seemingly obscure seats, from justice of the peace to county sheriff, that have outsized impacts on Texas families. by Evan Mintz


A brief introduction to the various sections of Mercury and a short video that explains the purpose of each tab.
It's advisable to view this webinar in HD to avoid blur. Click on the button and set the Quality to 720p.
Help: The Help tool enables you to search articles from the Connective Wiki, Live chat with the Mercury Helpdesk and Raise a Support request.
Launch Mercury in a new tab: Allows users to better multitask.
Opportunity Types split from Status Editor: Minimises Opportunity types being mistakenly removed.
Manage Users: It is now possible to add users from the Manage Users section, and it is also possible to drag and drop users into virtual branches from here.
Task Templates: It is now possible to clone Task Templates from within an Opportunity.
Quick Search Bar: Allows the user to do a smart search on all People and Opportunities in the CRM.
My Workspace added alongside Recent Opportunities: By popular demand.
Improved task list: Allows users to edit tasks without opening the Opportunity.
Task Management: Allows users to edit tasks without opening the Opportunity, also easier to view layout.
Addresses: Smart address search with predictive search. This will save time and will also put the addresses into the preferred format for Apply Online to minimise double entry.
Change Log: gives an audit history for both Opportunities and People records.
New Search Filter: It is now possible to search People/Opportunities by Date Last Updated. Click on the green plus symbol next to the search icon, select Date Last Updated and enter your search criteria.
Re-naming Documents: By popular demand.
Borrowing Capacity: Mercury 5 Borrowing Capacity calculations now integrate with the Apply Online servicing engine.
Hide product search parameters: great space saver for user with smaller screens/ laptops.
Clone Funding Positions: Also by popular demand. Will save double-entry of data.
Compliance Documents: The documents tab contains merge templates that allow you to merge data in your Mercury CRM with the required compliance documents, and lender documents to name just a few.