text:
Padre Steve's World: Official Home of the Anti-Chaps
2010 MLB
Aircraft & Air Power
Baseball & Life
Civil Rights in America
Faith & Life
Padre Steve's Music
PTSD, Moral Injury & Mental Illness
Shipmates, Veterans & Friends
The Church of Baseball
TLC Book Tour Reviews
Warship & Naval Battles
Weimar & Nazi Germany
Welcome to my World & a Disclaimer
WWII in Europe
WWII in the Pacific
Tag Archives: naturalized citizens
January 7, 2019 · 00:57
Know Nothings, Racism, Walls and Trump
Friends of Padre Steve's World,
Long before President Trump was elected President and uttered the words Shithole countries" in slandering the people of Haiti as well as African nations; long before he said that there were "very good people" among the new-Nazis and White Supremacists at Charlottesville; but not before he had made disparaging comments about Mexicans and began talking about making "Mexico pay for a border wall," I wrote about his penchant for obvious racist terminology and tactics.
I trace that terminology and tactics back to a movement long before Trump was ever thought of, in fact to a time when his German immigrant ancestors were scorned and hated because of their ethnicity. That being said his immigrant grandfather made a small fortune in the Pacific Northwest and the Klondike Gold Rush mostly catering to prospectors and women of ill-repute. Like many immigrants the man was incredibly successful; he made a fortune and returned to Germany where he was discovered was thrown out of the country because the Kingdom of Bavaria believed that he had gone to America to of all things, to avoid military service. The fact that he didn't have to get a doctor to say he had heel spurs to avoid conscription makes him far more admirable than his grandson. But I digress…
I wrote the following article back in July of 2016 simply because the Trump family story happened to coincide with the subject of my draft book "Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory": Race, Religion, Ideology, and Politics in the Civil War Era. It just happens to be that the Donald's father, Fred happened to get arrested during a march of the Ku Klux Klan in New York in 1927 while dressed as a Klansman. Imagine that.
Back then the blowback that I received for that article from from friends, including a woman who was one of the bridesmaids at our wedding, was so intense that I never wanted to go through it again. However, I went through worse last year when a parishioner at my Navy Chapel attempted to have me tried by Court Martial for allegedly showing disrespect to the President in a sermon. I did no such thing, and the charges were shown false and politically motivated, but they shook me to the core.
It really is amazing when one makes a credible claim that a candidate for the Presidency is a racist and have long time friends castigate you and condemn you for telling the truth. Thus I found it quite refreshing when Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez told CNN's Anderson Cooper that President Trump was "no question" a racist before noting, as I have so often on this site:
"When you look at the words that he uses, which are historic dog whistles of white supremacy. When you look at how he reacted to the Charlottesville incident, where neo-Nazis murdered a woman, versus how he manufactures crises like immigrants seeking legal refuge on our borders, it's — it's night and day,"
But once again I digress but the irony of the current President going after immigrants and defending Klansmen while calling the countries of many current immigrants is far too rich to ignore. But the sad truth is that racism is still to common and is being given voice by the President of the United States in ways that haven't been seen since the presidency of Woodrow Wilson. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall noted:
"I wish I could say that racism and prejudice were only distant memories. We must dissent from the indifference. We must dissent from the apathy. We must dissent from the fear, the hatred and the mistrust…We must dissent because America can do better, because America has no choice but to do better."
Now the government has been shut down for two weeks because Trump is holding out on building his wall, a wall that will be another budget buster and not do anything to increase national security or stop terrorists. Despite this, the President is now threatening to declare a State Of Emergency in order to find a way to build his wall. If he does, there are many other powers that he can use to shore up his flailing regime.
It is a very dangerous time.
So anyway, here is what I wrote back in July 2016,
Padre Steve+
Mark Twain reportedly said that "History does not repeat itself, but it often rhymes." One can see that in the nomination of Donald Trump as the nominee of the Republican Part for President. Eleven months ago I wrote an article called Trump and the Return of the Know Nothings. At the time few people gave him little chance of becoming the Republican nominee, and now he is the nominee and for all practical purposes owns the GOP.
Trump's xenophobic views on immigration charged the debate in the Republican Party during the primaries, and his positions which were fringe positions of most Republicans for decades became the mainstream, just as the same issue did during the 1840s and 1850s. So this is not a new phenomenon, and even over the past few decades the debate has come and gone, but it has returned with a vengeance as Donald Trump made immigration, or rather a virulent anti-immigration platform the centerpiece of his campaign. Trump's focus on the issue forced other Republican candidates to scramble in order to find a position close enough to Trump's without completely throwing away the vote of immigrants who they will need to win in many states; if they are to have any hope of winning back the presidency in 2016. But they failed. Trump outmaneuvered them at every point, and in the end Trump's strongest opponent, Senator Ted Cruz went into the witch's cauldron of the Republican National Convention not to endorse Trump but to stand on principle and in the process destroy his politic career and maybe endanger his life.
But Trump's positionresonated with parts of the Republican base, and by appealing to their anger and frustration he has built a solid core of support which loyally supported him in a campaign that featured so many blunders and heneous comments that in a normal election cycle his campaign would not have survived past the Southern Super Tuesday. But he did, and if on the takes the time to read Trump's speeches and the reactions to them by his supporters it becomes apparent that Trump has tapped into that vast reservoir of nativism that has always been a part of the American body-politic.
As I said, such attitudes and movements are nothing new. Anti-immigrant movements in the United States go back to our earliest days, ever since the first Irish Catholics showed up in the northeast in the late 1790s and early 1800s. Met with scorn and treated as criminals the Irish Catholics had to work hard to gain any kind of acceptance in Protestant America. But immigrants continued to come, seeking the freedom promised in the Declaration of Independence.
Many White American Protestants viewed Irish, German and other European immigrants to the Unites States in the 1830s, 1840s, and 1850s as interlopers who were attempting to take over the country. The immigrants were regarded as poor, uneducated, uncouth, and immoral, and in the case of Catholic immigrants as representatives and foot soldiers of a hostile government, the Vatican, headed by the Pope and the bishops. Those who opposed immigration formed a movement that was aimed at forbidding immigrants from being granted full rights, especially the rights of citizenship and voting. The fear was pervasive. Many Northern Whites were afraid that immigrants would take their jobs, since like slaves in the South, the new immigrants were a source of cheap labor.
Northern Protestant church leaders and ministers were some of the most vocal anti-immigrant voices and their words were echoed by politicians and in the press. The movement grew and used government action, the courts and violence to oppress the Irish and Germans who were the most frequent targets of their hate. The movement eventually became known as the "Know Nothing" movement.
Know Nothing leaders were not content to simply discuss their agenda in the forum of ideas and political discourse, they often used mob-violence and intimidation to keep Catholics away from the ballot box. Mobs of nativist Know Nothings sometimes numbering in the hundreds or even the thousands attacked immigrants in what they called "Paddy hunts," Paddy being a slur for the Irish. To combat immigrants who might want to exercise their right to vote, the Know Nothings deployed gangs like the New York's Bowery Boys and Baltimore's Plug Uglies. They also deployed their own paramilitary organization to intimidate immigrants on Election Day. This group, known as the Wide Awakes was especially prone to use violence and physical intimidation in pursuit of their goals. The Nativist paramilitaries also provided security for anti-immigrant preachers from angry immigrants who might try to disrupt their "prayer" meetings.
Know Nothing's and other Nativist organizations, organized mass meetings throughout the country which were attended by thousands of men. The meetings were often led by prominent Protestant ministers who were rich in their use of preaching and prayer to rile up their audiences. The meetings often ended with physical attacks and other violence against German or Irish immigrants and sometimes with the burning of the local Catholic Church. They also provided security for preachers from angry immigrants who might try to disrupt nativist prayer meetings.
Bloody Monday, Louisville 1855
The violence was widespread and reached its peak in the mid-1850s.
Monday, August 6, 1855 was Election Day in Louisville, Kentucky. To prevent German and Irish Catholics from voting, Know Nothing mobs took to the street and launched a violent attack on immigrants as well as their churches and businesses. Known now as "Black Monday" the Nativists burned Armbruster's Brewery, they rolled cannons to the doors of the St. Martin of Tours Church, the Cathedral of the Assumption and Saint Patrick's Church, which they then were searched for arms. The private dwellings and the businesses of immigrants were looted. A neighborhood known as "Quinn's Row" was burned with the inhabitants barricaded inside. At least 22 persons were killed in the violence and many more were injured. In Baltimore the 1856, 1857, and 1858 elections were all marred by violence perpetrated by Nativist mobs. In Maine, Know Nothing followers tarred and feathered a Catholic priest and burned down a Catholic church.
The Know Nothings did not merely seek to disenfranchise immigrants through violence alone, they were more sophisticated than that. They knew that to be successful they had to change the law. Then, as now, a new immigrant had to live in the United States for five years before becoming eligible to become a naturalized of the United States. The Know nothings felt that this was too short of time and their party platform in the 1856 election had this as one of the party planks:
A change in the laws of naturalization, making a continued residence of twenty-one years, of all not heretofore provided for, an indispensable requisite for citizenship hereafter, and excluding all paupers, and persons convicted of crime, from landing upon our shores; but no interference with the vested rights of foreigners.
The rational of the Know Nothings for the 21 year wait was that if a baby born in the United States had to wait until it was 21 years old he could vote, that immigrants were being permitted to "jump the line" and vote sooner than native-born Americans. But really what the Know Nothings wanted to was to destroy the ability of immigrant communities to use the ballot box. In many localities and some states Know Nothing majorities took power. The Massachusetts legislature, which was dominated by Know Nothings, passed a law barring immigrants from voting for two additional years after they became United States citizens.
The 1856 platform Know Nothing Party was synopsized by a Know Nothing supporter:
(1) Repeal of all Naturalization Laws.
(2) None but Americans for office.
(3) A pure American Common School system.
(4) War to the hilt, on political Romanism.
(5) Opposition to the formation of Military Companies, composed of Foreigners.
(6) The advocacy of a sound, healthy and safe Nationality.
(7) Hostility to all Papal influences, when brought to bear against the Republic.
(8) American Constitutions & American sentiments.
(9) More stringent & effective Emigration Laws.
(10) The amplest protection to Protestant Interests.
(11) The doctrines of the revered Washington.
(12) The sending back of all foreign paupers.
(13) Formation of societies to protect American interests.
(14) Eternal enmity to all those who attempt to carry out the principles of a foreign Church or State.
(15) Our Country, our whole Country, and nothing but our Country.
(16) Finally,-American Laws, and American Legislation, and Death to all foreign influences, whether in high places or low
In addition to their violent acts, the use of the courts and political intimidation the Know Nothings waged a culture war against immigrants. Latin mottoes on courthouses were replaced by English translations. Actions were taken to remove immigrants who had become naturalized citizens from public offices and civil service jobs as well as to use the government to persecute Catholic churches. In Philadelphia, all naturalized citizens on the police force were fired, including non-Catholics who has supported Catholic politicians, and in Boston, a special board was set up to investigate the sex lives of nuns and other supposed crimes of the Catholic church.
In the political upheaval of the 1850s Nativists tried to find homes in the different political parties. Some Know Nothings who were abolitionists became part of the new Republican Party, and Abraham Lincoln condemned them in harsh terms. He wrote his friend Joshua Speed about the hypocrisy that they displayed by supposedly being against the oppression of blacks while willing to oppress immigrants:
"I am not a Know-Nothing. That is certain. How could I be? How can any one who abhors the oppression of negroes, be in favor or degrading classes of white people? Our progress in degeneracy appears to me to be pretty rapid. As a nation, we began by declaring that "all men are created equal." We now practically read it "all men are created equal, except negroes" When the Know-Nothings get control, it will read "all men are created equal, except negroes, and foreigners, and Catholics." When it comes to this I should prefer emigrating to some country where they make no pretence of loving liberty — to Russia, for instance, where despotism can be taken pure, and without the base alloy of hypocracy [sic]."
As an organized movement, the Know Nothings died out by the early 1860s, migrating to different parties and causes. In the North many became part of the pro-slavery Copperhead movement, which opposed Lincoln on emancipation and the Thirteenth Amendment. In the post-war South the anti-Catholic parts of the Nativist movement found a home in the Ku Klux Klan and other white terrorist organizations which also used racist and nativist propaganda to perpetuate violence, and disenfranchise emancipated blacks in the decades following the end of the Civil War and the end of Reconstruction. The Nativist and anti-immigrant sentiments have periodically found a home in different parts of the country and the electorate. Violence was used against Chinese, Japanese and Filipino immigrants on the West Coast, against Mexicans in the Southwest, Italians, Slavs, Eastern Europeans and Jews in the Northeast.
Sadly it seems that the Know Nothing is being turned against others today. I find it strange that there are a host of people, mostly on the political right that are doing their best in their local communities, state legislatures and even Congress to roll back civil liberties for various groups of people. There is a certain amount of xenophobia in regard to immigrants of all types, especially those with darker skin white Americans, but some of the worst is reserved for Arabs and other Middle-Easterners, even Arab Christians who are presumed as all Middle Easterners are to be Moslem terrorists, even those who have been here decades and hold respectable places in their communities.
But immigrants are not alone, there seems to be in some states a systematized attempt to disenfranchise the one group of people that has almost always born the brunt of legal and illegal discrimination, African Americans.
Likewise there have been numerous attempts to roll back the rights of women, especially working women; the use of the legislature by religious conservatives to place limits on the reproductive rights of women, holding them to the standard of a religion that they do not practice. Despite the Supreme Court's ruling for Marriage Equality in Obergfell v. Hodges there still are numerous attempts to curb any civil rights, including the right to marriage or civil unions of the LGBT community.
As I said, this is nothing new, that hatred and intolerance of some toward anyone who is different than them, who they deem to be a threat is easily exploited by politicians, pundits and preachers, none of whom care for anything but their prosperity, ideology, religion, or cause. While I would not call them a new incarnation of the Know Nothings, I have to notice the similarities in their message and the way that they push their agenda. As for those among them who claim the mantle of Christ and call themselves Christians I am troubled, because I know that when religion is entwined with political movements that are based in repressing or oppressing others that it does not end well. As Brian Cox who played Herman Goering in the television miniseries Nuremberg told the American Army psychologist Captain Gustave Gilbert played by Matt Craven: "The segregation laws in your country and the anti-Semitic laws in mine, are they not just a difference of degree?"
That difference of degree does matter, and there have been and still could be times when the frustration and anger of people, especially religious people can be whipped into a frenzy of violence and government sanctioned oppression by unscrupulous politicians, preachers and pundits. History is replete with examples of how it can happen. When I think of this I am reminded of the close of Spencer Tracy's remarks in the movie Judgment at Nuremberg:
But this trial has shown that under a national crisis, ordinary – even able and extraordinary – men can delude themselves into the commission of crimes so vast and heinous that they beggar the imagination. No one who has sat through the trial can ever forget them: men sterilized because of political belief; a mockery made of friendship and faith; the murder of children. How easily it can happen. There are those in our own country too who today speak of the "protection of country" – of 'survival'. A decision must be made in the life of every nation at the very moment when the grasp of the enemy is at its throat. Then, it seems that the only way to survive is to use the means of the enemy, to rest survival upon what is expedient – to look the other way. Well, the answer to that is 'survival as what'? A country isn't a rock. It's not an extension of one's self. It's what it stands for. It's what it stands for when standing for something is the most difficult! Before the people of the world, let it now be noted that here, in our decision, this is what we stand for: justice, truth, and the value of a single human being."
So for today I will leave it there. I probably will return to the similarities between the Know Nothings and Trump, but not this moment. I actually do have a life and want to write about other things. But that being said, there are times when history rhymes, and this is one of them.
So have a wonderful day.
Filed under civil rights, ethics, History, laws and legislation, leadership, News and current events, Political Commentary
Tagged as abraham lincoln, Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, anti-Catholic persecution, black monday louisville, bowery boys, citizenship, civil rights, fred trump, gustave gilbert, hermann goering, immigrants, Immigration, judgement at nuremberg, know nothing party, know nothings, lgbtq rights, mark twain, mine eyes have seen the glory, nativism, naturalized citizens, obergfell v. hodges, paddy hunts, populism, president donald trump, pug uglies, racism, republican party, spencer tracy, wide awakes, xenophobia
Zum Wohl!
Friends of Padre Steve's World I welcome comments, even those which disagree with my positions and articles. I have done this for years, but recently I have been worn out by some people. I have just a couple of rules for comments. First, be respectful of me and other commentators. If you are even if I disagree with you your comment will be posted and I will respond accordingly. That being said I will not allow people to hijack the comment section to push their religious or ideological views. Unless the comment deals with the meat of the article, don't expect me to allow you to preach. Nor will I allow spam comments. Most of those are automatically blocked by Wordpress but some do get through. Peace Padre Steve+
Padre Steve's World Season Attendance
7,481,517 Manic Moderates
Subscribe to Padre Steve's World
Steven Dundas
The Disadvantage Of Belonging to so called Inferior Races: Race and Slavery in Ante-Bellum America
Eliminating Political Opposition and Laws Enabling Crimes Against Humanity: Germany July 14th 1933
To Boldly Go…. Binge Watching Star Trek the Next Generation from the Beginning and Wondering About Possibilities not of This Earth
The Battle Of Kursk: Nazi Military Operations Cannot be Separated from Hitler's Genocidal Policies
To Kill a Mockingbird at 59: Sometimes the Bible in the Hand Of One Man is Worse than a Whiskey Bottle in the Hand Of Another
Padre Steve's World on Facebook
The Unexplained and Tragic Death of David Wilkerson
The Last Stand of the Iron Brigade
Battleship Row: The Story of the Battleships of Pearl Harbor
The Tragedy of Friends at War; Lewis Armistead and Winfield Scott Hancock on Cemetery Ridge
The Vault: Padre Steve's Archives
armored fighting vehicles
Batlimore Orioles
Climate change,
counterinsurency in afghanistan
ecology and energy
economics and financial policy
enteratinment
ER's and Trauma
hampton roads and tidewater
iraq,afghanistan
Korean Conflicts
Lies of World Net Daily
Loose thoughts and musings
Photo Montages
pro-life anti-abortion
purely humorous
remembering friends
shipmates and veterans
sports and life
state government agencies
things I don't get
to iraq and back
Tour in Iraq
traumatic national events
US Army Air Corps
World War II at Sea
world war two in europe
world war two in the pacific
ALL ARTICLES THAT I POST ON THIS SITE REFLECT MY PERSONAL VIEWS, OR IF I POST ANOTHER WRITER'S WORK ARE VIEWS THAT I FIND INTERESTING OR INFORMATIVE. LINKS TO OTHER SITES ARE PROVIDED BECAUSE I FIND THEM INTERESTING, INFORMATIVE, INSPIRATIONAL, FUNNY, OR BECAUSE I KNOW THE AUTHORS, AND NOT BECAUSE THEY REFLECT MY VIEWS OR BECAUSE I NECESSARILY AGREE WITH THEM, ALTHOUGH THERE ARE SOME THAT I DO AGREE WITH, THOUGH HALF THE TIME I CAN'T REMEMBER WHICH ONES THAT I OR AGREE OR DISAGREE.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY ME ON THIS SITE DO NOT REFLECT THE VIEWS OF ORGANIZATIONS TO WHICH I BELONG NOW OR THAT I EVER IN MY LIFE HAVE BELONGED; INCLUDING THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT, THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE, THE UNITED STATES NAVY, THE JOINT FORCES STAFF COLLEGE, THE APOSTOLIC CATHOLIC ORTHODOX CHURCH, MY WIFE JUDY, MY DOGS, MY MOM, MY DRINKING BUDDIES, OR ANY OTHER GROUP THAT I BELONG TO, PAST AND PRESENT, INCLUDING COLLEGE AND HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI ASSOCIATIONS, SPORTS FAN CLUBS, OR FACEBOOK GROUPS. SUCH EXTENDS TO ANY TRACE OF MYSELF IN THIS UNIVERSE, PAST LIVES, OR IN PARALLEL/ ALTERNATE UNIVERSES.
ANY REBROADCAST, RETRANSMISSION, REBROADCAST , OR ACCOUNT OF THIS BLOG, WITHOUT THE EXPRESS WRITTEN CONSENT OF MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL, IS PROHIBITED.
OKAY, THAT LAST SECTION WAS A JOKE. BUT THE REST IS IS TRUE.
A Tangled Mass of Musings
Baseball Batlimore Orioles christian life civil rights civil war ethics faith Foreign Policy Gettysburg History holocaust iraq,afghanistan laws and legislation leadership Loose thoughts and musings middle east Military national security Navy Ships nazi germany News and current events norfolk tides Pastoral Care philosophy Political Commentary PTSD Religion US Navy world war two in europe world war two in the pacific
Padre Steve'sTweets
RT @Booksie: Eliminating Political Opposition and Laws Enabling Crimes Against Humanity: Germany July 14th 1933 padresteve.com/2019/07/13/eli… via… 17 hours ago
The latest from my blog padresteve.com/2019/07/14/the… 17 hours ago
The Disadvantage Of Belonging to so called Inferior Races: Race and Slavery in Ante-Bellum America… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… 17 hours ago
@jonathanalter Totally agree 1 day ago
RT @jonathanalter: Trump says those targeted Sunday are "dangerous". So why tip them off raid is coming?That violates policy by ending elem… 1 day ago
Bus Leagues Baseball
Dodgers-Giants: Baseball's greatest Rivalry
Negro Leagues Baseball Hall of Fame
Norfolk Tides Baseball Club
Abbey Normal Abbess's Blog
Atheistic in Alabama
Blog Maverick
Over the Hedge Blog
padredavid's blog
Pearls Before Swine: The Website of Stephan Pastis
Rob Akers Blog
Saepe Nihil Cogitamus
Sean Munger
Stephan Pastis Pearls Before Swine Blog
The Groovy Historian
The Herald Dispatch
The Militant Negro
Translate this page with Google Translator
Windy City Wonderer
Christian Democrats
Father Andrew Greeley's Website
Mercy Not Sacrifice: The Blog of Morgan Guyton
Patheos Blog
Red Letter Christianity
Religion News Blog
Sarah Posner on Religion Dispatches
Sojouners
The Apostolic Catholic Orthodox Church
The Christian Left
The Gospel According to Hate
The Official Website of Frank Schaffer
To Stir a Movement: Christian Social Justice: The Blog of Jeremy Affeldt
Touchstone Magazine
Warren Throckmorton
Army Historical Foundation
Hampton Roads Naval Museum
Navsource Photo Index
Southern Campaign in NC
US Naval Institute
Bloom County
Daily Fun Lists
Dilbert Classics
Doonesbury Comic
Non Sequitur Comic
The Farting Preacher
The Grizzwells Comic
The Other Coast Comic
The Shameful Chaplain
Local News and Weather
Jacksonville (NC) Daily News
KCRA (Sacramento Stockton)
Stockton Record
Virginia Pilot
WAVY TV 10 (Portsmouth, Norfolk VA)
Weather bug for Virginia Beach
Armed Forces News Service
Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America
John Ismay
Ship Bucket
The United States Navy
Padre Steve on the Daily Kos
Padre Steve's Facebook Page
Padre Steve's Photo of the Day
Padre Steve's View from 102
NBC News (MSNBC)
SF Gate (San Francisco Chronicle)
CNN Political Ticker
Compare Stances
Hardball Chris Matthews
Huffington Post Politics
John Fugelsang's Official Website
Rachel Maddow Show
That's So Takei: The Blog of George Takei
The Last Word Lawrence O'Donnell
The Lipstick Liberal Show
The Political Carnival
National Center on PTSD
National Intrepid Center of Excellence
Real Warriors
Al Arabiya English
Der Spiegel English
Kyodo News (Japan)
Sidney Morning Herald (Australia)
Sky News (UK)
The Guardian (UK)
The Telegraph (UK)
Xinhua (China)
Yonhap News Korea
Padre Steve's World: Official Home of the Anti-Chaps · Musings of a Progressive Realist in Wonderland


Standardbred in North American history, Foiled Again.
on their inaugural hosting in 2010.
Society which owns and administrates the Breeders Crown series.
$8 million, with more than 17,000 in combined attendance.
the most coveted honors in harness racing.


Learn how to clean up your Google Analytics reports to get accurate data about your website.
Who doesn't use Google Analytics to track their website traffic? It's one of the best free resources available to business owners, webmasters, and SEO consultants. And that makes it all the more distressing that spammers have decided to target it. The problem is, they are succeeding in injecting all sorts of junk into millions of Analytics accounts making the data far less accurate, and giving a false picture to the people depending on that data.
If you've ever opened up your Google Analytics reporting to see crazy a website like "free-seo-buttons.info" sending you tons of traffic, or a bunch of visits to a strange page that doesn't exist, or visitors using "languages" that seem to recommend certain political candidates, you know what we're talking about.
In this 2 part mini-course, SEO trainer Ross Barefoot will be showing you how to identify and deal with Spam in your Google Analytics accounts.
This mini-course is great for beginners and advanced users alike. Ross will cover some quick ways that even GA novices can use to get the spam out of your reports, as well as more advanced strategies for keeping spam from causing problems in the future.


text:
Robert Edward Miller
January 1, 1923 - October 12, 2017
So long for now…… Robert "Bob" E. Miller, 94 of Clarksville died Thursday, Oct 12, 2017 at Lynn's Heritage House in Louisiana. Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. Tuesday, Oct 17th at Collier Funeral Home in Louisiana with Rev, Paul Akin officiating. Military honors will be conducted by the American Legion Post 370 from Louisiana, MO. Visitation will be held from 10 a.m. until time of service at the funeral home. Following the service, there will be a short graveside celebration at Greenwood Cemetery in Clarksville. In 1923, Bob was a New Year's blessing to Frank and Grace Miller. He grew up in Ferguson and Florissant, MO, which was "out-in-the-country" in those days, with lots of training on mechanical things, photography and on artistic techniques for painting and drawing from his parents and numerous family friends. Upon graduation from Ferguson High School, he accepted a job with Curtis-Wright Aircraft Company as an avionics electrician and quality certification inspector. Shortly, thereafter, with the on-goings of World War II expanding to the Pacific, he joined the U.S. Army Air Force and was sent to Guam, Saipan and Tinian where he supported the B-29 mission in the 20th Air Force. As a Sargent, his duties were maintenance of the central fire control systems, avionics specialist/inspector and weapons inspector. At the conclusion of the war, he returned home to Saint Louis, resumed work at Curtis-Wright now, McDonnell Aircraft Company, as an aircraft inspector foreman in final assembly, where he met Emma Lou Sterne, who was working as an administrative book-keeper. They were married on Aug 30, 1947 and in 1951 they both left McDonnel Aircraft Company and moved to Clarksville to begin their life farming. In 1961, Bob began work at Hercules Chemical Company in Louisiana, until accepting a job with Holtec Engineering Company of Canada in 1965, to help with the building of Dundee Cement Company in Clarksville. He retired from Dundee in 1988 only to expand his farming and cattle ranching activities with a part-time and growing photography and sign painting business. Additionally, he painted portraits and landscapes, as a hobby, for numerous friends and family. Bob was preceded in death, by his wife Emma Lou in Feb 2009, both his and her parents, and her sister, Elizabeth Mobley, and brother, Homer Sterne. He is survived by his daughter, Tammy Smeeks and husband, Thomas and their two daughters, Krystina Sterne and husband Stephen, and Ahnnya Beiswenger and husband Caleb; numerous nieces, nephews and cousins on both the Miller and Sterne sides of the family and by a host of friends. He has been a member of the American Legion Post 349 and the Christian Church, both in Clarksville and was a lifetime member of the Air Force Association. Pallbearers will be: Krystina Sterne, Ahnnya Beiswenger, Larry Webb, Geoff Sterne, Stephen Sterne, and Thomas Smeeks. Memorials may be given, to the Raintree Art's Council (Miller Family Art Education Scholarship), c/o Linda Blakey, P.O. Box 251, Clarksville, MO 63336, to support the growth in artistic development for our local youth pursuing a higher-education degree in the Arts.
So long for now…… Robert "Bob" E. Miller, 94 of Clarksville died Thursday, Oct 12, 2017 at Lynn's Heritage House in Louisiana. Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. Tuesday, Oct 17th at Collier Funeral Home in... View Obituary & Service Information
The family of Robert Edward Miller created this Life Tributes page to make it easy to share your memories.
So long for now…… Robert "Bob" E. Miller, 94 of Clarksville died...

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Welcome to the Cochrane CPA Ontario Association! Known for the largest gold mine in North America, Cochrane is also home to more than 150 CPAs in the area. Our Association is governed by a group of CPA volunteers who assist with professional development programs and social networking opportunities. Together, we support our members in their journey as a CPA, and engender pride of membership in CPA Ontario.
From a geographic perspective, our membership base extends to many cities, including Cochrane, Timmins, Hearst, Kapuskasing, Kirkland Lake and Porcupine. Our Association aims to be inclusive and engaging for all CPAs in northern Ontario.
Should you have any ideas for programs and topics or any other comments or suggestions, please feel free to contact me, so that it can be considered for future discussion and event planning. I look forward to seeing you at future events!


This thread is dedicated to owners who are making videos about their cars while driving.
List your general location: "New Westminster British Columbia, Canada" for example.
Last edited by Gyro_Bot; 04-03-2013 at 12:41 AM.
Last edited by Gyro_Bot; 04-06-2013 at 02:56 PM.
The mount needs to be secured. I bought a iphone mount that was supposed to "remove" shakiness. It didn't and none of the ones I've tried, do. RX8 suspension is too sporty.
The only two ways I found successful was (using electrical tape) tapping the camera to the passenger headrest or zap strapping a camera to the passenger sun visor. This is the only way (I've found so far) to produce crystal clear videos from the RX8.
Last edited by Gyro_Bot; 03-30-2013 at 02:37 PM.
Not a bad idea. I have a video on YouTube already, it just doesnt have any music except for the sweet sound of ExoticSpeed!
Great vids! I can barely navigate this site or I would video lol, hope to enjoy more soon.
Setup shots - that was pro.
Rolling shots - that was awesome.
Fire breathing shot - priceless!!
Actually... you're inspiring me to make another video! NICE!
I made this one with my girlfriend a couple years back. I've since changed my hair style FYI.
That's a full production! I was not expecting to see that. Nice!
When I looked for such videos on the forum, I missed this. This would have been a great find.
This should be published! Cuz I'd buy that.
Last edited by Gyro_Bot; 04-08-2013 at 08:45 PM.
What's that???!!! The Fast and the Furious low budget reproduction???
You forgot to mention the best part... "With a Mazda RX8".
Last edited by Cliffjumper126; 04-07-2013 at 12:47 AM.
Still enjoyed the video. Nice find!
Last edited by Gyro_Bot; 04-09-2013 at 02:26 PM.
Don't hesitate to holler if you want me to remove them. Was just givin' ya a razz.
Haha! I noticed it had Norwegian number plates so I had to look up to see how's the owner now.
Anyway, I like this thread and hope there will be some more videos.
It's not mine, but it's still a cool video that I would like to share.
Maybe he's on this forum?
I just read this thread right now!
I was calling BS the moment the video started, can't believe you guys fell for that.
Old sevenstock vid i put together.
I also have a bunch of other random vids i made a while back n' some vids my car got spotted in (not sure if relative).
Ahh, ahh, ahh, ahh, ahh...nice video Atilla!


They're always called "doubles," never in the singular. They're deep-fried and hearty, yet totally vegan. They retail for less than a fast-food soda. And they're the best Caribbean sandwich you've never heard of.
The best part? Most doubles will only set you back a buck or two, max—so a breakfast's worth of fried bread and chickpea sandwiches will ring in at under $5.
The bread. A round flatbread called bara, it's slightly squishy, pliant, and best when fried fresh. Ground turmeric gives it a distinctive yellow hue.
The filling. Hearty chickpea curry, called channa, scented with garlic and onion, curry powder and cumin fills out the sandwich. Pepper sauce, mango pickle, and tamarind are the condiments of choice. Ideally you'd use them all at once; a balance of heat, sour, and sweet.
Where to get them: American communities with sizable Trinidadian populations, including parts of Florida and the New York metro area, will likely have doubles, sold either at stand-alone doubles shops or at roti shops (another popular Caribbean fast-food). Here are two to try in Bedford-Stuyvesant in Brooklyn—though if you walk down Nostrand Avenue, you'll find a dozen more.
Ali's Trinidad Roti Shop. Just around the corner from A&A, Ali's is a larger venue, with a cheery yellow interior and plenty of room to sit. Expect to wait a little longer, but it's worth it to get your doubles fresh, with a nicely spiced channa and still-warm bara.


text:
Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls
Samson Brown, Matthew Finlan and Athena Kaitlin Trinh. Photo by John Packman.
By Dave Deveau
Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls follows the story of 9-year-old Fiona who comes out as a boy and wants to be called Fin. Fin has always had this feeling – knowing something is different but not knowing what it was or how to say it. As Fin cuts his hair short and changes his name, his family works to understand and adjust to Fin's gender identity. Dad is accepting of the change right away, but Mom doesn't quite get it at first. Always from a place of good intentions, we see Fin's family struggle with this change and through the course of the play ultimately begin to accept and embrace Fin for who he is.
Themes: Gender | Identity | Diversity | Equity
Often when we talk about differences, empathy and inclusion the conversations can become abstract and intellectual. The show, for me, invoked a much more grounded sense of empathy and understanding of the challenges students and their families face when kids identify their own differences. Beautifully written and performed. We definitely want to bring the show back next fall when our 7's become next years 8's.
TDSB Principal
Seriously fantastic! Such relatable characters that made the challenges of being trans or defying gender norms make sense.
TDSB Teacher
Recommended for Grades 4-8
PAST EVENT: Ladies and Gentleman, Boys and Girls – Roseneath Theatre (ON), October 22-November 30, 2018
PAST EVENT: Ladies and Gentleman, Boys and Girls – Roseneath Theatre (ON), March 19th – May 4th, 2018
Premiered at Roseneath Theatre early 2018
The Roseneath production was nominated for three 2018 Dora Mavor Moore Awards including Outstanding New Play (TYA) – Dave Deveau
Video from the 2018 production of Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls featuring Samson Brown, Matthew Finlan and Athena Kaitlin Trinh by Endless Films.
More Plays By Dave Deveau
Celestial Being
Dead People's Things
Lowest Common Denominator


Consider the Earth - there is no longitude for South and North Poles, they are marked as latitudes 90 South and 90 North respectively.
Open CASCADE requires that a face's wire represents a closed contour both in 2D parametric space and in 3D space. To achieve that, edges with parametric curves (pcurves) lying in surface singularities are marked as degenerated (i.e. have special flag IsDegenerated and has no 3D curve).
Consider the face that is created when using BRepPrimAPI_MakeSphere. It has a wire of 4 edges, 2 of which have pcurves going along U=-R and U=R and have no 3D curve.


Iris St. Clair: Louder Than Words to be PUBLISHED!!
Louder Than Words to be PUBLISHED!!
Yes...I've found a home for Louder Than Words with Swoon Romance, a digital first imprint / sister company of Month9Books. I am so very excited to be a part of the Swoon Romance family. I have read several of their books because I already knew and loved the authors. I also love Swoon's upbeat covers, so perfect for young adult books.
Estimated publish date is September 2014.
I can't wait to share this book with the world.
I can't wait to make my official debut as Iris St. Clair!
Remember: Never. Ever. Give. Up.
Congratulations! I saw this on Facebook but didn't venture over here to say good luck!!


text:
Wednesday, 18th of June 2014 Issue #2 June
Chefs, bricklayers and tilers added to Australia's skilled occupation list
Bid to keep out dentists fails in visa shake-up
Australia boosts number of visa application centres in South Asia
Minister revokes Rebels bikie boss Alex 's visa while overseas
The World Cup: a tournament of nations and migrants
Chefs, bricklayers and wall and floor tilers will be added to the Skilled Occupation List (SOL) from July 1 to help meet the skills needs of the Australian economy, as announced on 09 June 2014 by the Minister for Trade and Investment, the Hon. Andrew Robb, and the Assistant Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, Senator the Hon. Michaelia Cash.
Minister Robb said the Australian Workforce and Productivity Agency (AWPA) works independently of government to provide annual recommendations on the composition of the SOL to ensure it responds to Australia's changing skill needs.
'The AWPA analyses evidence such as the labour market, education and training, migration and general economic and demographic data to make sure we get the balance right,' Minister Robb said.
'In this case, bricklayers and tilers have been added to the list because of an increase in demand predicted for these occupations as well as a decrease in apprenticeship completions.'
Minister Cash said the addition of chefs to the SOL reflects that the occupation is in short supply, coupled with strong growth projected in the cafe and restaurant sector.
'Including chefs on the SOL will provide greater flexibility for businesses to recruit skilled chefs from overseas when they cannot source these skills locally,' Minister Cash said.
'The addition of these occupations will be especially welcomed in regional areas, where there is a known deficit of skilled workers in the hospitality and construction industries.'
The SOL is used for people applying for the independent or family sponsored points tested visa or temporary graduate (subclass 485) - graduate work stream. Before prospective migrants can apply for independent skilled migration, they must submit an expression of interest via SkillSelect.
No existing occupations are being removed from the SOL, which currently lists 188 occupations that Australia needs.
Read more on our website under news section
Abbott government will slash the number of foreign accountants able to get permanent visas but local dentists have failed in a bid to impose new restrictions on their overseas counterparts working in Australia.
The government decision to cut the number of foreign accountants came after the Australian Workplace and Productivity Agency rejected a bid by the Department of Employment to have accountants removed from the Skilled Occupation List.
The agency recommends annually which occupations be added or - removed. Foreign workers whose occupation is on the list can apply for a permanent visa without requiring a sponsor.
The government has capped the program at 43,990 skilled visas next financial year. For each of the professions on the list, the number of positions available is capped at 6 per cent of the occupation's workforce. After the agency agreed to -reduce the cap for accountants to 4.5 per cent, the Assistant Minister for Immigration, Michaelia Cash, said the government had decided to reduce the cap further to 3 per cent.
Senator Cash said the new - occupational ceiling would limit the number of accountancy places to about 5000 next financial year.
"Lowering this ceiling will not only ensure that the allocation of the program remains appropriate to Australia's ... needs, but will safeguard other in-demand occupations ... from being crowded out from excessive -accountant applications," she said.
The government has backed the agency's recommendation to keep dentists on the list and maintain the cap at 6 per cent, meaning up to 942 foreign dentists will be able to obtain permanent visas next financial year. About 15,700 dental practitioners are employed in Australia, with non-citizens making up 15.2 per cent compared with an 11 per cent average across all professional occupations.
According to the agency, there has been a 41 per cent growth in dental employment over the past five years, with employment growth expected to rise 20 per cent over the next five years.
But the number of graduates employed full-time has fallen 20 per cent over the past years, including a 6.1 per cent fall between 2012-13.
Visa applicants from India and Nepal can now apply for their Australian visas more conveniently through new upgraded centres.
Australia's Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) said that there are now three new and ten upgraded Visa Application Centres (VACs) in the region.
With services provided by VFS Global, the upgraded centres are located in the Indian cities of Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai (North) and New Delhi as well as one in Kathmandu, Nepal.
In future, visa applicants can lodge their visa requests from three new Australia VACs, to be opened in Jalandhar, Mumbai (South) and Pune over the next few weeks.
'This enhanced service network will save time and travel expense, and will speed up the entire visa application process,' said a DIBP spokesman.
Mark Pierce, Australian Consul General, Mumbai, inaugurated the new facilities in the city and said that he hopes it will lead to increased numbers of Indian business leaders, students and tourists heading to Australia.
'For the first time in its history, our High Commission in New Delhi issued more than 100,000 tourism visas to Indians in a single financial year, with numbers increasing by 10% in the first three months of this year,' he said. 'This is a real milestone for the bilateral relationship and follows a 50% increase in Indian student visa applications over the last year,' he added.
Anil Katoch, CEO for South Asia with VFS Global, described the move as an important one. 'Catering to the growing demand of Australia-bound travellers in India, we aim to offer high quality applicant-friendly services,' he explained.
'We aim to provide a seamless visa application experience to all those applying through our Visa Application Centres. This extension of our association with the government of Australia reflects their faith in our abilities, and we are sure this will go a long way in forging a longstanding partnership with VFS Global,' he added.
Minister revokes Rebels bikie boss Alex Vella's visa while overseas
Vella, 60, was visiting his birth country of Malta when the minister swooped, cancelling his visa on character grounds.
The move means Vella, who has lived in Australia for more than 45 years but has never gained citizenship, is now without a legal means of returning to Australia.
Mr Morrison would not comment on the specifics, but said: "I can confirm his visa was cancelled last Friday."
It's understood the minister revoked Vella's visa on the grounds that he was not deemed to be of good character, as defined under the Migration Act.
A former boxing champion and millionaire property developer, Sydney-based Vella founded Australia's largest outlaw motorcycle gang, the Rebels, and is their long-serving national president.
Cancelling his visa while he is overseas may limit his appeal rights, and authorities hope make it more difficult for him to launch a legal bid against the order.
Vella has made Australia his home since the 1960s, when his family moved to New South Wales and developed a strawberry farm. He has since raised a family in Australia.
'The imagined nation of millions is never more real than as a team of eleven named individuals', wrote Eric Hobsbawm.
That may need updating for the age of tactical squad rotation, but the football World Cup remains the most popular international celebration of nationhood. That makes the 2014 World Cup a global showcase for how generations of migration and integration have reshaped national identity as a civic ideal.
Strikingly, two-thirds of the footballers at the World Cup are migrants.
Of the 736 players selected for the tournament, no fewer than 478 (65%) live and work outside the countries whose shirts they wear, while just 258 play at home, according to British Future analysis of the thirty-two World Cup squads.
This migrant-majority World Cup mostly tells a story of skilled emigration, reminding us that migration is also a game of two halves.
[SUBSCRIPTIONS]


text:
List of Monarch Reigns
Holy Roman Empire
Friedrich III. (Emperor Frederick III), Archduke of Lower Austria as Frederick V
Holy Roman Empire / Friedrich III. (Emperor Frederick III), Archduke of Lower Austria as Frederick V
Holy Roman Empire - Friedrich III. (Emperor Frederick III), Archduke of Lower Austria as Frederick V (19 March 1452 - 19 August 1493)
Frederick III was Holy Roman Emperor from 1452 until his death, the first emperor of the House of Habsburg. He was the penultimate emperor to be crowned by the Pope, and the last to be crowned in Rome.
Prior to his imperial coronation, he was duke of the Inner Austrian lands of Styria, Carinthia and Carniola from 1424, and also acted as regent over the Duchy of Austria (as Frederick V) from 1439. He was elected and crowned King of Germany (as Frederick IV) in 1440. He was the longest-reigning German monarch when in 1493, after ruling his domains for more than 53 years, he was succeeded by his son Maximilian I.
During his reign, Frederick concentrated on re-uniting the Habsburg "hereditary lands" of Austria and took a lesser interest in Imperial affairs. Nevertheless, by his dynastic entitlement to Hungary as well as by the Burgundian inheritance, he laid the foundations for the later Habsburg Empire. Mocked as "Arch-Sleepyhead of the Holy Roman Empire" (German: Erzschlafmütze) during his lifetime, he is today increasingly seen as an efficient ruler.
Friedrich III. (Emperor Frederick III), Archduke of Lower Austria as Frederick V: Details
Archduke Frederick III (V of Austria), Holy Roman Emperor
Advertising (helps this site)
Country Details
See Wikipedia page
Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor - Wikipedia


From a health standpoint, vegetables are an unbeatable food: naturally nutrient-rich; better tasting than a vitamin pill; low in calories; high in fibre and packed with disease-fighting phytonutrients. All types of vegetables can be nourishing and delicious – fresh, frozen, canned and juiced.
To maximize your health with vegetables, nutrition experts suggest at least 3 to 5 servings per day – but why stop there? With so many ways to enjoy spring-time goodness, you could easily eat vegetables at breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. Here are a dozen daily ways to treat yourself to good health!
Asparagus: Saute in olive oil with garlic and a hit of lemon zest for a refreshing and seasonal dish. Roasted asparagus is a great finger food for snacking on!
Broccoli and cauliflower: Versatile and very healthful – eat them raw (with dip if you like) or cooked, in a salad or even a slaw.
Carrots: Sweet, crunchy, good for your teeth, eyes and heart! Perfect raw (as a snack or salad) or cooked in a stew.
Peppers: Green, red, yellow, orange or even purple! Enjoy peppers in a salad, stir-fry, casserole or as a snack. They are great roasted too.
Spinach: A salad of baby spinach leaves with pears or apples can turn anyone into a real spinach lover. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle goat cheese on top, mmmmm.
Onions: The zesty onion family (scallions, leeks and garlic, too!) offers some powerful antioxidant nutrients.
Peas: Fresh or frozen, peas are a treat to eat and they are very popular with small children. I like to eat them freshly picked, right out of the pod.
Beets: If you've never liked beets, try them in a new way – like roasted, grilled or lightly steamed in the microwave. They increase inflammation-fighting nitric oxide.
Mushrooms: Just a mushroom or two adds rich flavor to a casserole, soup, stew, stir-fry or even a tossed green salad. Asian mushrooms are loaded with anti-cancer nutrients.
Leaf and romaine lettuce: Rule of thumb for a healthy salad – the darker the color of the lettuce leaves, the more nutrients you get.
Green, yellow or purple beans: Like their pea 'cousins,' beans offer some fibre and a little bit of protein, along with vitamins and minerals.
Tomatoes: Cooking increases the availability of some tomato nutrients – so enjoy canned sauce, paste and chunks.
Leave a comment below and let me know how you enjoy your favourite veggies.
What exactly are superfoods anyway?
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, superfoods are "a super nutrient-dense food, loaded with vitamins, minerals, fiber, antioxidants, and/or phytonutrients, etc.". I have also read they have specific benefits for health improvements, few negative properties and are a whole food in its natural state.
In a perfect world, we would all be able to buy organic, local, grass fed, free-range food on a daily basis. But if you're anything like me, that's not possible, the grocery budget is only so big, especially with 2 growing boys.
Now, I've made some changes in our monthly budget so that I can buy more organic food. Cut back on the Starbucks for one. But I've also found this great guide that shows which produce has the most pesticide residues and are the most important to buy organic, and which are the least contaminated and you can save your money by buying them conventional.
Visit the Environmental Working Group's website to get your copy of the "Dirty Dozen, Clean Fifteen" list.
Since cancer prevention and support is my passion, I've chosen 3 foods from each list, highlighting their cancer fighting properties.
If you're looking for ways to add veggies and fruit to your day, download my eBook "Cancer Prehab 101: Juices and Smoothies". Filled with delicious and easy recipes you'll love.


text:
The Shrinking Middle (Tradecraft)
Wizards of the Coast announced something today that Magic players will likely never hear about. On December 29th, they'll reduce the discount for Magic product by 2%, increasing our costs by 4%. They're not raising prices, they're just reducing the discount, meaning retailers will pay more, but will sell for the same price. How much more? I estimate $3,000-$8,000 a year, from each store, will just evaporate from retailer coffers. WOTC costs have been steadily rising for us in the form of shipping surcharges, but this is the first time the discount has been changed since 2009.
The reasons for shrinking margins is the usual stated added increases in costs of doing business that every reduced margin publisher provides us, be it Wiz Kids, Paizo or the myriad of others. Often those programs disappear or are entirely forgotten, while the shrunken margin remains. Even when they still exist, what other industry adds the cost of their doing business to their retailers?
In the case of Wizards, they have not raised prices on Magic since 2006, when packs went from $3.69 to $3.99. Using an inflation calculator, the price for a Magic booster, keeping up with inflation, should be $4.71 right now. So why not raise the MSRP?
It doesn't need to go up a buck, but even a quarter is well within what they need to cover their increased costs. More than likely, this is because Wizards of the Coast doesn't want to risk upsetting their customer base. When you've got a golden goose, you don't change its feed. But retailers? Whadda they gonna do about it? Nothing, that's what. We lack our own trade organization and an after hours email saying you've just lost $2,000-$8,000 next year is not an unusual occurrence.
As I've mentioned many times, with both an MSRP system and a discount structure, there is no way for game stores to cope with rising costs. When our costs go up, we can't raise prices, so we find a way to eat it, and that way is usually less staff, poorer infrastructure, and cost cuts in uncomfortable areas, from toilet paper quality to how often we clean the carpets. It makes the game trade a backwater, an inflexible business model that is inherently down market. Publishers then scoff at us and our operation, a model of their own making. It would be nice if the 500 pound gorilla in the industry was at least more understanding of our plight.
Posted by Gary Ray at Wednesday, October 29, 2014 10 comments:
Gamers and Gates
On Fridays, if I'm lucky, I go to the rifle range and shoot holes in circles. It's a relaxing thing I like to do and it's a kind of reward, a conceit, after a decade of running a successful business. It's my golf. There is tremendous guilt in this time away, but that's another story. I mention this because you will never see a more polite group of miscreants as the fine ladies and gentlemen of the rifle range.
Why? Mostly because they all have guns. That tends to engender politeness, despite what you might have been told. When there's yelling, it's because there's a violation of safety. I was yelled at last week for not noticing someone else's safety violation. It takes a village.
They also have a common cause. They're all members of a maligned sub culture. They have vastly, wildly divergent views on politics, religion, the way of the world, but they all agree on one thing. They all want to continue to punch holes in paper circles, and much of the world disagrees.
I mention this because gamers are also members of a maligned subculture. Sure, the video game market is literally 100 times larger than the hobby game market, but any attempt to distance myself from video gamers ends up with me throwing stones within my glass house.
Their games are violent. Check. They're a black hole of time. Check. It's predominantly a male pursuit with difficulty integrating women. Check. My male dominated murder hoboism, AKA my D&D group, meets all standards for which I dislike vidya games. There are great, beautiful, creative, and non violent themes in both genres, and we all strive towards those examples, but the criticisms, the examples of what's normative in the sub cultures, are mostly the same.
The one saving grace of hobby gaming sub culture, one difference from video game culture, is eventually, hopefully, we'll meet face to face. It's social gaming. We're not all holding guns to engender politeness, but we still get along well enough to kill the monsters and take their stuff. Yes, our online forums are just as virulent as the video game forums, but have you ever been on a firearms forum?
Oh geez, the amount of time people spend trying to convince you that one, one-hundredth of an inch is vitally critical to your survival is just staggering. Arguments get just as heated, although there's very rarely threats of violence for obvious reasons. There is no deterrence in gaming forums.
Without a social outlet, video gamers have no social consequences to their douchebaggery, no deterrence. There is no convention or game store where they'll have to encounter each other and reconcile their differences. There's no rifle range of politeness.
I'm not a solutions guy, but if I had to guess, it would be more accountability and zero tolerance. More walled gardens and less Wild West. But I've got my hands full over here, trying to get my own hobby game house in order. Our basic guideline of Don't Be a Dick, Wheaton's Law, tends to work pretty well for us.
Posted by Gary Ray at Thursday, October 23, 2014 7 comments:
Fill Rates (Tradecraft)
Here's a little experiment. I'm taking my top 30 board games, which excludes expansions and card games, and checking availability from the largest three distributors at my local, West Coast warehouses. Over a quarter of this list includes Alliance exclusives (marked with an "x" for distributors that can't get those games), which pretty much guarantees I'll be shopping with Alliance. Lets look at the fill rates with these games, with Alliance being judged with their exclusives included. The other two distributors get a pass on those games.
Description ACD Alliance GTS
Pandemic: New Edition x Y x
Betrayal at House on the Hill N N N
Settlers of Catan Rev. x Y x
King of Tokyo Y Y Y
Small World x Y x
Ticket to Ride x Y x
Forbidden Desert Y Y Y
Smash Up N Y Y
Robinson Crusoe x Y x
Descent Journeys in the Dark 2E Y Y Y
Firefly: The Board Game Y N Y
Takenoko N N N
Arkham Horror Y Y Y
7 Wonders Y Y Y
Carcassonne x N x
Zombicide N N Y
Lords of Waterdeep Y Y Y
Castle Panic Y Y Y
Star Wars X-wing N Y Y
Super Dungeon Explore N Y Y
Red Dragon Inn Y Y Y
Elder Sign Y Y Y
Krosmaster: Arena Y N Y
Rampage N N Y
Shadows Over Camelot x N x
Agricola x Y x
Cosmic Encounter Y N Y
A Game Of Thrones Y Y Y
Mansions of Madness N N Y
Mice and Mystics Y Y Y
Available 14 20 20
Fill Rate Percentage 63.6 66.7 90.9
Tradecraft: Problems You (Want/Don't Want) To Have
The new issue of ICV2 put the current game trade problems into context (the article isn't online yet). The game trade is booming. It has been booming for years now, but this year is one of the best in recent memory. Product availability, however, is poor. What am I talking about? The hottest games of the year, Marvel Dice Masters and X-Wing are gone. The D&D 5 Player's Handbook and the Pathfinder Advanced Class Guide are missing from our shelves. Board game mainstays like Betrayal at the House on the Hill and Carcassonne are gone, and worse, the new games, the ones we would like to build on, have disappeared without a trace in fire and forget fashion.
So who is at fault for this? Nobody. Everybody. Retailers are told to order deeper. Publishers are either frustrated or elated by this increased demand. Some will call a sell out a victory, while others are seriously concerned with satisfying the market. If you're at a bake sale and you sell all your cookies, that's a clear win. You have the money and no need to take perishable cookies home. If you're the guy in charge of selling the cookies, you're frustrated that you won't be taking in any more cookie money.
That's where retailers are right now. No more cookie money. The hottest games of the year are worth nothing to us if we can't put them on the shelves. We can't even call them hot, really, because we don't know the depth of the demand. Being the last man standing when it comes to inventory is great, but it doesn't build your confidence in a product line. There is a sense of a "ceiling of success" when there's a supply ceiling that can't satisfy demand. It's not greed, but a perceived limit to what's possible with hard work.
Will the next Dice Masters or X-Wing release be hot? Who knows? Some say Dice Masters is done. Some have massive pre-orders in. Not only do we not know our own depths of demand, but the lack of product overall perverts the local market, driving people to our store to suck up the last dice pack or space ship. When supply is plentiful, those people are not our customers. So without a way to plumb the depths, we're reluctant to take chances, to dive deep, on the next release, which means pre-orders are low, and the process repeats itself. Madness.
The next problem is organized play. If we were online retailers, no big deal. Sell whatcha got, blow it out or speculate, wash rinse repeat. In the case of game stores, publishers are expecting us to provide the value adds that we do so well, what differentiates us from everyone else. They want us to run organized play for their games, but think about that. Why would I run organized play for Dice Masters or X-Wing when I can't sell the product? Out of a sense of charity? Our customers certainly want that. So now we're in a jammed up position of wanting to satisfy customers, but not having financial incentive to do so.
There are bright spots of course. Besides miniature games, which generally have it together this year, there's Magic. Oh Magic, you savior of stores. We would run Magic events every day of the week, if we could. Wizards of the Coast almost always has supply. They provide wonderful organized play. The judges have it together. In fact, it's so easy right now, there's talk of game store blight, too many craptastic Magic only store stinking up the market and offering very little to their local communities. We're always lecturing them on diversification, but it's hard when the rest of the trade can't get their supply and demand formulas right.
So times are good, very good. Success is limited by the supply of products. I find it hard to blame anyone really. We're ordering what we think we need. They're making what seems a reasonable amount. Demand is outstripping supply. Future demand is hard to divine. If we could all just crack the code, there could be success at a much higher level. That potential is what's frustrating to retailers. Just don't call it a win.
Posted by Gary Ray at Friday, October 10, 2014 16 comments:
Customized Service at Commoditized Prices
"All of us as consumers have gotten spoiled... We expect customized goods and services at commodity prices. -Robert Rubin
This sums up modern retail quite well. We want things now, we want them exceptional, and we want them cheap. For the most part, you can have that. It comes in two flavors. The first flavor is mega corporation, because the only way to get this result is economies of scale, cutting out fat, as Robert Rubin goes on to say.
This is your Wal Mart, Target and Amazon. We expect these companies to be cheap, and they are. They can do this by squeezing their suppliers, paying their staff less, buying in bulk at reduced prices, using technology to increase efficiency, or in the case of Amazon, not making any money at all, much to the chagrin of their shareholders.
The second way retail addresses this is specialty retail. That's me! Specialty retail is about taking a small niche and hand serving a tiny customer base with customized goods and services. Customized goods and services means you can come to me needing a board game for an eight year old boy who likes trains and I can hand pick you a suitable game at a satisfactory price point in no time. Eight people can come to a miniatures event and pay $5 for store credit and we'll call that a win because of a complex ancillary micro sales model.
That's a niche I can fill that the mega corporation won't touch because of its fiddly complex nature and impossible to scale efficiencies. I do it by being small and nimble and having no fat whatsoever. We also have some big box characteristics, and despite the low tech nature of what we sell, we're extremely dependent on technology and sophisticated inventory processes.
There are reasons for more for less, but it would be wrong to claim it's all tech or pressuring suppliers. The way we've all been able to get customized goods and services and commoditized prices is almost entirely worker productivity. Our employees are pretty amazing, expected to master five times the tasks of a McDonald's employee for not a lot more money. That's been the trend over the years, expecting massive productivity increases, bit by bit, often a fraction of a percent in a quarter, but over many years.
The demand for more, better, right now at a low price has resulted in staggeringly high employee productivity. With unemployment falling, there's a concern in some quarters about increased inflation. However, the concern comes from an outdated concept that doesn't take into account the levels we've squeezed out productivity from today's workers. When employees are 50% more productive than they were just a short while ago, you can pay them more without feeling the pinch to the bottom line, which means inflation shouldn't rise. So we demand more with less, while we complain about income inequality, the shrinking middle class, and stagnant wages.
I am no exception here. One thing I tell my managers is if they can get through school, with the experience they're getting working for us, they'll be golden. Why? Because they work really damn hard, smart, and fast. Anyone who can master that in my employ is destined for success with a degree in hand.
Tradecraft: Problems You (Want/Don't Want) To Have...


text:
Q: jquery mobile on phonegap backbutton event I have the following code:
document.addEventListener("deviceready", onDeviceReady, false);

function onDeviceReady() {
    document.addEventListener("backbutton", onBackKeyDown, false);
}

function onBackKeyDown() {
    if ($.mobile.activePage.attr("id") === "home") {
        e.preventDefault();
        navigator.app.exitApp(); //not working
    }
}

My onBackKeyDown() function is being entered, now I'm getting a series of strange events:

*

*My if condition is never entered, even when my $.mobile.activePage.attr("id") === "home" is true (tested on weinre server)

*navigator.app.exitApp never works, this seems to happen across my whole app, not just this one function.

*Back button is unresponsive all over my app.

Any idea why I'm getting this strange behavior? Phonegap 2.6, jquery mobile 1.3.0 and testing on an Android 2.3.7.

A: In my testing here
if ($.mobile.activePage.attr("id") === "home") {

works perfectly.
Already "navigator.app.exitApp ()" will not really work because "navigator" refers to the browser itself, PhoneGap applications do not use browser but a webview.
But how applications behave differently on each OS version, try the following:
if(navigator.app){
        navigator.app.exitApp();
}else if(navigator.device){
        navigator.device.exitApp();
}

A: I'm testing html5 app with cordova and jquery mobile - for Android and Blackberry the following code working for me :
var ua = navigator.userAgent;
window.device = {
iphone: ua.match(/(iPhone|iPod|iPad)/),
blackberry7: ua.match(/91|93|97|96|97|9800|9810|9850|9860|99/),
blackberry10: ua.match(/BB|PlayBook|Tablet/),
android: ua.match(/Android/)
}
//window.device ready for blackberry
if (window.device.blackberry7){
    document.addEventListener('deviceready', onDeviceReady, false);
}
//window.device ready for android
else {
    window.addEventListener('load', onDeviceReady, false);
}

and then :
function onDeviceReady(){
document.addEventListener("backbutton", onBackKeyDown, false);
document.addEventListener("menubutton", onMenuKeyDown, false);
document.addEventListener("searchbutton", onSearchKeyDown, false);
}
function onBackKeyDown(){
if (window.device.blackberry7){blackberry.app.exit();}
if (!window.device.blackberry7){navigator.app.exitApp();}
}
function onMenuKeyDown(){
if (window.device.blackberry7){alert("BB Menu key");}
if (!window.device.blackberry7){alert("Menu key");}
}
function onSearchKeyDown(){
if (window.device.blackberry7){alert("BB Search key");}
if (!window.device.blackberry7){alert("Search key");}
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Swyter ist der Familienname folgender Personen:
 Mekke Willms Swyter (1838–1900), baptistischer Geistlicher
 Florian Swyter (* 1969), deutscher Politiker

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Hello everybody! Okay, so in this first OC Making 101 Article... Mary sues. Now, most of anda know what i'm talking about. Rainbows, un-natural colors, neon. BUT, that's SO stereotypical! Most NORMAL Mary sue's, Like IceTalon here, Look normal and have something wrong with it. (The base was made oleh WarriorCatkittyclaws on deviantart! ) Then... On the other hand... Stereotypical Mary sue's, like queen pelangi step over there at the bottom of the page... Is actually kinda scary. Now. if your a beginner, at least TRY? G'night! See anda on the selanjutnya episode of.. OC making 101!
Moontail ( Tigerfur's daughter ) "I give anda a life of courage, to keep FireClan together anda will need it."
Yellowpelt ( Tigerfur's first mate ) "Take this life of love. Use it to protect the kits, apprentices, warriors, elders, queens, and your deputy."
Stormfire ( The deputy of ThunderClan before Tigerfur ) "I give anda a life of perseverance. It will be used to guide your heart, and your clan mates."
Lilacholly ( Tigerfur's oldest sister) "This is a place of light. Your jantung is light. So, I give anda a life of light, to spread understanding to your clan mates."
Frostkit ( A friend to Tigerfur when she was kit ) "You are presented with a life of playfulness. You're Clan will cinta a playful leader."
Rainysky ( medicine cat in ThunderClan ) "Endless energy is my life to you. Never stop your jantung from chasing dreams."
NoelStar ( Tigerfur's detik oldest sister ) "I give anda a life of generosity so, anda will earn anda respect, not take it."
Bronzeshade ( Tigerfur's detik apprentice ) "Here is a life of patience. anda will need to wait for your Clan no matter how long it takes."
Tigerfur opened her eyes and jumped when she saw her dead kit Moontail. "Welcome to StarClan mother." "What I can't be here yet! I have to save my Clan! The legend!"
Tigerpaw woke up in a dream. She heard whispers that berkata "You are a caged tiger and anda will deliver the clans peace. Be warned once the tiger is out, it doesn't go back in."
Moontail berkata "StarClan thought of that. We are actually here for your leader ceremony."
"What? Rosestar is still alive and I'm dead!"
"You have to keep that a secret. To fulfill your legend anda must pretend anda never died. anda are not leader of ThunderClan though. anda must be leader of a new Clan. FireClan."
"Who will be in my Clan?"
"The leaders has diberikan anda kucing already. Don't panic TigerStar."
"Oh, okay I won't panic. I have no reason to panic. I have to keep the ultimate secret and Lead a new Clan with warrior that used to be enemies! I'm not panicking at all!"
Tigerfur is the deputy of ThunderClan. She is a half clan cat. Her mother is Spottedfang of ThunderClan and her father is Blazetail of WindClan. Tigerfur is no ordinary cat. Her sister Firefox is the medicine cat and her brother is Hawkflame. Hawkflame was secretly raised oleh TigerStar in the Dark Forest and today he chose his mate over his clan, and his sister's life. Tigerfur caught Hawkflame with Soaringcloud his mate from ShadowClan. She called him out on it. Tigerfur was furious and didn't know that a luak, lumba-lumba was coming behind her. Luckily Soaringcloud warned Tigerfur. She fought the luak, lumba-lumba alone because Hawkflame chose his mate first. The luak, lumba-lumba ran off after a while. Tigerfur dropped to the ground bleeding to death. She gave a silent whimper. "Hawkflame, would anda leave your sister here to die?" He responded " My mate was always better than you." With those words he walked away. Soaringcloud hated Hawkflame now. "How could anda she's your sister!" She left Hawkflame without a mate and Tigerfur received help. It was too late. Hawkflame cost his sister her life. For this he was sent to the Dark Forest.
Squrrielflight: Yes hello there Squrrielflight here live from Squrrielflight's broadcasting Corporation, and now the Weather.
Squrrielflight: Today for Windclan expect some High Winds with clear skies this wind might be strong so hang on to your Hat.
A video tampilkan a Live Tornado in the background and Squrrielflight looks at it.
Squrrielflight: oh my look at that.
The live screen goes to Thunderclan where a Massive Lightning storm is happening.
Squrrielflight: For Thunderclan expect a few thunderstorms today with some Lightning.
The Live Screen changes to Shadowclan where Raining explosive acid is occurring.
Squrrielflight: Shadowclan why anda lucky kucing some acid is falling from the sky and explodes on impact, but it only rains 1 drop every few seconds.
"Oh when is he going to get back!?" berkata Cinderpaw in the apprentice sarang, den impatiently. "Calm down Cinderpaw, he wont take long" berkata Brackenpaw sleepily."Im looking for him!" she berkata as she came running out of the apprentice den."Where are anda going?" asked a voice behind her. It was Longtail. Im looking for Fireheart!" she berkata excitedly. "Youre as skittish as a squirrle" Lontail berkata "Off anda go!". She ran to the entrence of the camp and bumped into someone."Hello, Fireheart!" she said."Looks like I came just in time" he teased."I thought a luak, lumba-lumba ate you!" she also teased."No cat would be foolish enough to do that" berkata Tigerclaw. "OR anda got ran over oleh a monster!" she said. Fireheart yawned. "You should go back to the apprentice den, its late" berkata Firepaw.
"Manny! Get down here now!" Yelled the mother from downstairs, in the kitchen.
Manny, who was only a poor 9-year old boy, was snoozing away until his mother had woken him up. He was always bullied at school and never had any friends. Even his so called "family" never liked him; calling him scumbag, kicking him around, atau just never cleaned him. "I'm coming mom!" Shouted Manny while scrambling out of his bed.
He could hear his mother muttering to herself till she continued doing what she always does. And it is defiantly not cleaning atau helping. It's sitting on the dipan, sofa and drinking alcohol and beer.
Manny pulled out his overalls and quickly opened the window. This was another misfortunate giving to Manny when he was born in this family. They always locked his door so he could neither get in atau out. He had to go down a loose vine that clung to the crippled building.
The stars were shining brightly as a gray cat sat on a rock, meditating her thoughts and actions. She shook her furry head as she soon started to cry. Thin streams of tears lined down her cheeks. "Why?" She stuttered out. "Why did I not help them in their time of need?"
"It's not your fault mother," a voice behind her replied.
The gray cat whipped around to see her son, mantel shining like a bintang in the night sky. "Oh, Stonefur! Sorry about this. It's just that-" she cut off and her eyes darted toward the sky.
Stonefur shook his head, leaping up to sit beside his mother. "Listen, it is not your fault. We will have a plan to recover the once-beautiful forest we lived and thrived in," he reassured her.
His mother just sighed at this and replied "Stonefur, listen to me now. We failed. I failed them. Maybe if I chose Graystripe atau Firestar with the prophecy than maybe...just maybe...none of this would have happened."
In various countries lives four kids, who died mysteriously on their own turf. Somehow, unaware of the parent's guardians and others, they travel into a dimension of where kucing live freely and inhabit the forest surrounding them. But they had been turned into kucing as well! Only, something is terribly wrong. The kucing who live there was once peaceful souls who protected their own Clans, but now they are full of hateful tyrants who kill for not only survival, but for simple passion.
#1 Signs of the Stars!
I Bramblestar leader of Thunder clan am proud to say that there will be a 6th series taking place after OOTS and Bramblestar's storm.
So yes the ultimate pertanyaan has being answered.
Be happy All Erin Hunters put hard work into keeping anda guys happy. This new series brings pertanyaan like.
1. New cats. Yes new kits and kucing always exciting to see new kucing come.
2. new Territory. Most likely not but who knows it may happen.
3. Who will die. Yes anyone can die we can certainly expect that.
4. Battles. Of corse there will be battles, but how many?
Warriors.... this is a very short article.
My feels for this series are limitlecss. This series is absolutely amazing, every single detail usually has me sitting on the edge of my seat. But the later series (Omen of the Stars) have been a slight drag (coughcoughespieciallyDovewingcoughcough) but nonetheless, the series is espicially PERFECT. This is one of the best series I've ever read. Also, there is many GREAT fanwork out there, such as Mama Tad, Aluriya, SSS Warrior Ctas, Faustina A., etc on Youtube, just to name a few. That also had me loving this series just as much as ever! I hpe anda guys cinta it, too!!!!!!
On September 9th, 2014, new book jackets were revealed for the first series. I am here to not only tell anda about them, but to review them.
I honestly think that this one is a lot better than the original. This one looks a lot lebih realistic, and it shows Rusty/Firepaw/Fireheart/Firestar's personality and future in one look. Also, I've always wondered what he looked like as a real cat.
Tigerclaw/Tigerstar's glare along with that ominous background makes this cover look even better than before! and that was one of my favorit covers! Burning embers speak of danger and destruction, and like the title, contrast against the cold blue backdrop.
I honestly liked the original cover better. But as I am a bright sided person, I'll look on the bright side and say that I cinta the emotion in Graystripe's eyes as he ponders in his new RiverClan home.
New Super Edition announced "Moth Flight's Vision"
ngengat flights vision is a book about the first ever medicine cat and how the leaders got their nine lives, this new SE will be released in August 2014 in the same bulan as Bramblestar's storm.
My Response: I'm pretty happy about this as we find out the longest wanted jawaban of Warrior kucing how the leaders got their 9 lives and the first ever medicine cat.
NOTE POSSIBLE VERIFED IS NOT A GOOD WORD FOR THIS RIGHT NOW!
The tornado part is sorta breathtaking see that it will kill many cats.
Thunder Tales "A sarang, den Problem"
All words that characters say is in Cat.
In lake Territory Lionblaze who is testing out a rocket makes it launch.
But instead of heading for the Sky it heads for Bramblestar's Den.
The Rocket hits Bramblestar's sarang, den making it come apart making him use the Leader Yowl a powerful yowl that flattens trees and blows away cats.
After the forest around the lake is leveled Bramblestar tells Lionblaze.
Bramblestar(Angrily): Map map meow mew Map!
Lionblaze puts on a hard at and begins reconstructing Bramblestar's sarang, den once more.
Squrrielflight appears and wants to surprise Lionblaze so she puts tape around his eyes when he is not looking.
She takes off the tape around his eyes and Bramblestar's sarang, den is instantly remade but out of TNT!!
Squrrielflight tells him not to worry and look away.
Snowy snuffled around in the snow, trying to find any traces of Nights scent. She caught a trail, and followed it to under a rock. ' oh no! ' She thought. Snowy threw her shoulder against the rock and pushed it away. She gasped when she saw Night laying on his back, rapidly gasping for air. Snowy gently picked him up oleh the scruff of his neck, and nuzzled close to him. She didn't care that he had wandered off, but was just overjoyed to see him safe. She licked him clean and once he was breathing normally again, she brought him back to the rest of the pups. Cloud, Ice and bintang squealed with delight when they saw him. Night dashed over and tussled with Ice and Star. "Easy there Night" Snowy said. "But I'm fine mama" Night whined.
WARRIOR CAT NAME GENERATOR FOR EVERYONE!
For entertainment purposes only. Based on actual recordings.
Bramblestar is interrupted oleh a large explosion to find a beam coming from the lake.
Bramblestar: Squrrielflight what was that!!
Squrrielflight: I Don't know it must be the reactor we left earlier oleh the lake.
Bramblestar: Oh Dear we better get a Radiation suits on and clean the lake out.
A Few hours later after the lake is cleaned out Squrrielflight tells Bramblestar something.
Squrrielflight: So now that the lake is cleaned out I gave Jayfeather a nuclear reactor, I helped him with it and took care of him for a while.
Bramblestar: Squrrielflight remember when anda gave Jayfeather that bomb.
Squrrielflight: Umm yes small accident Med Cat sarang, den gone and warriors sarang, den also.
Look What I Brought halaman awal Bramblestar!
Bramblestar: What a Fine Day, im going to go out for a walk.
Squrrielflight: oohh I have being looking for anda Everywhere.
Squrrielflight: Oh Yes Yes Yes, I Brought something halaman awal on my Trip to Earth.
Squrrielflight: Yes its Right behind you.
Bramblestar: Sqq.. Sqq, SQURRIELFLIGHT WHAT IS THIS!!!
Squrrielflight: Just a little gift.
Bramblestar: Gift!! MALAYSIA AIRLINES WHAT!!! 9M-MRO Thats the Missing Aircraft!!! Squrrielflight where did anda find it!!
Squrrielflight: At 35.000 Feet while i was Flying in my X-Wing i took it home.
Bramblestar: How long as it being here?!
Squrrielflight: About a Week atau So.
Bramblestar: AHHH!! Squrrielflight Send this back to Earth right now safely.
In Dark Forest, Bramblestar falls from the sky, Followed oleh Jayfeather, Squrrielflight Cheats and Teleports behind them.
Tigerstar: I See anda fell in my Little trap, the only way your going to escape is oleh defeating me, In a Dance off!!
Brokenstar and Clawface both slam a disc. The musik starts and Tigerstar begins dancing, but Bramblestar not knowing how to dance.
Jayfeather who has a Explosive Herb he has and Throws it at him. As soon as it hits him Bramblestar begins dancing.
Jayfeather Throws another one but hits Bramblestar in the Head, and begins Break-dancing. Tigerstar now with some Dark Forest kucing around him also starts.
Jayfeather throws another know witch makes Bramblestar. Irish Dance, Bramblestar Irish Dancing with 2 Dark Forest kucing Dancing and Squrrielflight playing the Violin, only find to see Tigerstar also Irish Dancing with 4 Other Dark Forest Cats.


On 22 March, the World Ports Sustainability Program (WPSP) was officially launched during a high-level event gathering more than 250 professionals from the port and maritime industry and hosted by the Port of Antwerp. The event was opened by her Majesty Queen Mathilde of Belgium.
The WPSP Program, initiated by the International Association of Ports and Harbours (IAPH), aims to demonstrate global leadership of ports in contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations. It notably wants to empower port community actors worldwide to engage with business, governmental and societal stakeholders in creating sustainable added value for the local communities and wider regions in which their ports are embedded.
In more concrete terms, the WPSP aims to provide, through its website, a global library of best practices and a portal for projects and initiatives of international port-related organisations that joined the program as partners. It also aims to further become a think-tank and breeding ground for new collaborative projects and it will report regularly about the sustainability performance of the global ports sector. This work will be lead and coordinated by IAPH.
The launch was marked by the signature of a Declaration signed by the five founding partners of the project: the International Association of Ports and Harbours (IAPH), the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA), the Global Network of Cities and Ports (AIVP), the World Association for Waterborne Transport Infrastructure (PIANC) and the European Sea Ports Organisation (ESPO). It was also signed by two structural partners: the International Cargo Handling Coordination Association (ICHCA) and the International Association of Dredging Companies (IADC). As such, not only port authorities are involved in the programme but also the wider port community.
In essence, the undersigned organisations endorse the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), commit their respective organisations to contribute to the UN SDGs where and when possible within their own field of activity, competence and responsibility. They will do so by continuing existing projects and initiatives and by developing new ones. When possible and relevant, the organisations will work together to develop common projects. The partners also engage to recognise each other's work and to inform each other.
cruise and passenger traffic, through the ESPO Cruise and Ferry Port Network and the ESPO Network of Code of Good Practice for Cruise and Ferry Ports.
By signing this Declaration ESPO engages to continue and further develop its initiatives.
At the same time, ESPO is looking forward to reflecting with IAPH and the different WPSP partners on how to complement these initiatives by new initiatives that can contribute to implementing the SDGs.


International trade and development specialist with extensive experience in value chain development and export promotion projects. Particular experience in public private cooperation and institutional capacity development. Over 10 year of experience in project management in, amongst others, Eastern Europe, the Southern Caucasus, Northern Africa and the Middle East. Also active as representative of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the SME and Trade Panels of Platform 2 (Economic integration and convergence with EU policies) of the EC Eastern Partnership, as well as occasional trainer on export promotion related topics.
How to write your export marketing plan?
I will support you with writing your export strategy. I will do so on the basis of an export marketing plan, which helps you to develop the ideal product market combination for your business and provide you with the insights to implement your strategy.
By participating, you are donating €100.00 to the charity.