text:
Part II :: Airplanes and Awesomesauce
We climbed the stairs of Red Bird I, knowing we had beaten almost all of the team (hold for Rafalski and Bertuzzi), but when we were being shown to our seats, I noticed that most of the personnel — coaches, management, trainers — were already on board.
The first person I see is Mr. Holland — he's seated in the first row on the left side of the plane. As soon as I duck in through the door, he stands up, extends his hand and says, "Hello. I'm Ken."
Knowing what I know about him now, this isn't surprising in the least. He's one of the most friendly human beings I've ever had the pleasure of speaking with, but to hear someone who's so revered and respected introduce himself so casually was pretty neat. I shook his hand and said, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Holland." I'm not sure I'd ever be able to bring myself to call him "Ken."
On board, I see that most of the plane is divided into tables of four. Two sides of a table face one another in big, comfy, leather seats — with a large wooden table between them. On the table waiting for us (and everyone else) is a spread of cold cuts and cheeses. I'm sure the players are famished after three hours of hockey.
As I was still trying to process what had just happened with Mr. Holland, I realize that I'm sitting in an area with all of the media folks — Mickey Redmond, Paul Woods, Ken Kal, John Keating… Daniels was still screening players — and the coaching staff. Paul MacLean wasted no time to start dissecting game film. His laptop had been loaded with footage and as I sat down, he pressed play on the opening faceoff. Pretty wild.
Slowly but surely, the players started to stream onto the plane — most of them giving us a head nod or a little hello, very few of them making eye contact with Coach Babcock. I start going through the roster in my head, crossing off guys I've seen enter, trying to keep the lineup straight in my noggin.
Niklas Kronwall was wearing his Potter glasses. Jiri Hudler really is noticeably shorter than most of the other guys. Jonathan Ericsson is a goddamn beast. Nick Lidstrom has a halo. Val Filppula liked the tie/vest combination I decided to wear after changing my mind fourteen times.
Once Jan Mursak walked by, I figured we might not see Pavel Datsyuk on this trip after all.
PRIVATE JETS ARE THE WAY TO GO
The service aboard the plane is unreal. We were asked — no joke — five or six times if we'd like anything to eat. They had several choices of meals, and I assume that the guys all have their "flight meals" that they swear by. Anything you could possibly ask for — they probably had on the plane. The overhead compartments? Stuffed with chips and gum and cookies and whatnot.
I'm so used to taxiing on the runway for three goddamn hours that I was startled to find we took off about nine seconds after the door closed. They didn't harass me for not having my seatbelt on. No one mentioned the window shade being down (I knew that wasn't the reason planes stayed in the air), and before I even realized, my phone was sending and receiving e-mails. Interferes with the instruments, my ass. I didn't lose service until somewhere over Ohio (of course that's where it would be).
As soon as we were airborne, Mickey Redmond wandered back to our table and hung out for a few minutes, lamenting the night's effort but confident the next night would be better. You can tell these guys work hard doing what they do, because Mr. Redmond and Mr. Daniels both looked like they could fall asleep within thirty seconds if challenged. Nevertheless, it was awesome to chat with #20 for a few minutes and my dad couldn't help himself but to tell him I'm part of the triumvirate of masterminds behind Operation: Curly Fries. Mr. Redmond's reaction? "They always find a way to make a good thing go bad." Clearly, this man is pro-fries.
I decided that this leg of the journey probably isn't the best to go mingle with the players. They weren't making much noise back there (although, it was midnight by now) and I figured they'd rather be alone with their thoughts and iPads than shoot the breeze until we landed.
When we did arrive in Nashville, we walked down onto the runway to find that Mickey Redmond was pulling his weight in the way that Ken Daniels had through security screening. Redmond was on the baggage conveyor belt, getting everyone's bags off of the plane faster than the three actual baggage handlers could dream. One of them tried to get his hands in there to help, but Mickey was moving so quickly, he was better off letting the pro do his thing.
DEAD SILENCE ON THE BUS
We got our bag and headed to the charter bus, which had pulled up to where the plane landed. Baller.
Heading to the hotel, it was completely silent. I kind of figured it would be — considering the plane was pretty reserved, and it had only gotten later. I sat directly behind Valtteri Filppula and his non-Red Wings Lacoste bag. Most of the other guys had black duffel bags with the winged wheel adorning it, but we all know Val rolls in luxury.
As fans, we expect the players to be affected by a loss. And we usually demand perfection from them. But, having played the game for a handful of years, I can say that they're all still human beings and though I'm sure they don't like losing, they let it roll off of their backs. And they would. But not tonight. Tonight, they were silent.
Okay, not completely silent.
One player (who will remain unnamed), as we meandered our way through Nashville, looked out the window and joked "neon lights and trucks? You know what that means."
It means strip club.
A handful of guys chuckled, but believe me when I tell you that zero of these guys had any intention of focusing on anything but hockey. I'm not sure you could convince me they go out and party ever given how reserved and dialed in they were all weekend. But it was a humorous attempt to break the tension a bit and pretty soon we were arriving at the hotel, ready to crash before getting up a few hours later and starting all over.
TEAM HOTEL
We checked into the hotel around 1-ish Central. I was having a hell of a time keeping my eyes open and I didn't burn 4,000 calories playing hockey that night, so I can't imagine how painfully exhausted the Red Wings were. In fact, traveling with them for only 48 hours really opened my eyes to what kind of lives they lead. Sure, they have beautiful hotels and beautiful planes and meals are coordinated for them… but they literally don't stop. We didn't get settled in until after 1. And they had morning skate at 11.
And they have to do this 41 times a year. Minimum.
Walking into the hotel, we're greeted by half of the staff (including the manager who welcomed my dad and me back…which is kinda awesome). Just inside the door are two tables: one that says "PLAYERS" and another for "STAFF." All of the players have envelopes with their names on them — inside is a key to their room. Find your name, find your room, and get to bed.
Pavel Datsyuk's envelope is left on the table when all the others had been removed. Hint #2 that he wasn't around this weekend. But, seeing as how the local papers still had him listed in the lineup for Saturday's game, I thought I'd take the opportunity to break my first "scoop" of the weekend.
We're just about to head to our room on the 7th floor — the team was spread out all over — Mr. Holland stops us and says, "Breakfast at 9am?"
15 thoughts on "Part II :: Airplanes and Awesomesauce"
Tommy February 10, 2011 at 1:49 pm
Reading this makes me feel like I was on the trip myself. Great writing.
Graham February 10, 2011 at 1:54 pm
"Mr. Holland stops us and says, "Breakfast at 9am?""
Good gravy, Mr. Petrella, you are the biggest tease I've encountered since a girl named Shannon in high school.
Fantastic work, my friend. Looking forward to the rest of the series.
512Disch February 10, 2011 at 2:49 pm
I'm not posting JS for an entire week. What's the point? Anything I crap out will look like that one chick who goes to the gym twice/week sitting next to Heidi Klum while she makes out with an early 90's Kathy Ireland. This really frees up my weekend plans.
Mike Serven February 10, 2011 at 4:02 pm
Incredible details and great writing. This series of posts feels like I am reading hockey's version of Penthouse Letters. "I never thought this would happen to me……"
Amen. I almost wrote the exact same thing.
Cassandra February 10, 2011 at 4:30 pm
"Triumvirate of masterminds", though–that's a ten dollar phrase right there.
Loving this. Can't wait for more.
Liam February 10, 2011 at 8:02 pm
So, as Val walked past you he just said "That vest/tie combo? Class"?
That kinda thing?
Michael Petrella February 10, 2011 at 8:46 pm
HA! Not quite. More of a look that resembled "I kinda wanna ask where he got that, but don't want to look weird."
I'll be honest… I looked damn good. I don't blame him for giving it a once-over.
Penis February 10, 2011 at 10:35 pm
linked from puckdaddy, great read. Go Rangers
wingsluver4ever February 11, 2011 at 1:46 am
Gee, Petrella, you made it to Fantasy Island…even riding "The Plane!" Thanks for taking the rest of us there with your great writing about you and your Dad's adventure.
Taylor February 11, 2011 at 2:09 am
I was inspired by your title, but walking around campus saying "airplanesh and aweshomeshaush" was met solely with derision. Sad face. Oh and great story. But you already know that, and I wanted to be different.
Keithgc23 February 11, 2011 at 3:07 am
Sweet!!!
Monkeyknuckles February 11, 2011 at 3:27 am
What a lucky muthaphuka. I get chills just thinkin of being able to flyl on that plane among the gods.


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Starbucks Scoops Up China Coffee Beans for Asia Sales
Starbucks Corp (NASDAQ:SBUX) has this year bought coffee beans from China at its highest volume ever, shipping data show, reflecting the country's burgeoning role as bean supplier amid supply concerns among traditional exporters.
The world's biggest coffee chain imported nearly 14,000 bags of arabica beans from China into the United States in the first nine months of 2014, more than five times last year's total, according to data from shipping intelligence firm PIERS, which aggregates cargo manifest details from customs data.
That is a fraction of total coffee imports by Starbucks - also the leading overall importer - from across the globe in the January-September period, but the company's purchases represent more than half of China's coffee imports in the United States.
The jump this year from less than 2,600 60-kg bags in 2013 partly reflects growth in Starbucks' nascent retail business in China, where a growing urban population is drinking more coffee.
Some of the beans are roasted in the United States and then shipped back to China for sale in the fledging consumer market, a spokeswoman said in an email. The rest are included in blends available globally, she said.
Starbucks two years ago launched its first operation in Yunnan, China's main coffee-growing province, but does not have a roasting facility in Asia, she said. Nestle SA has been active in the region for decades.
News last month that Volcafe, the coffee arm of London-based commodities trader ED&F Man, will set up shop in Yunnan was the strongest sign yet that merchants are taking China seriously as a supplier of high-quality arabica beans on the global market.
SPECIALTY APPEAL
Yunnan's catimor beans, a hybrid of arabica and lower-quality robusta, have in the United States and Europe mainly been mixed into commercial-grade blends, importers said.
Another big buyer has been Miami-based family-owned trader Coex, which the data show has purchased between 2,000 and 7,000 bags each year since 2011. CEO Ernesto Alvarez said China is not a reliable high-volume supplier, but that its beans are an option when they are available.
Yunnan is unlikely to catch up with output in top grower Brazil's Minas Gerais state anytime soon, but the inflow comes as some roasters look for alternative supplies as drought and disease threaten output in Brazil and Central America.
China's coffees have also begun to catch the eye of the U.S. specialty market.
"Given what's going on in Central America with leaf rust and the drought in Brazil, you want to look at other options," said Craig Holt, owner of Seattle-based Atlas Coffee Importers, which caters toward specialty U.S. roasters.
Holt has never purchased Chinese coffee before, but plans to travel to the country's Yunnan province in December after sampling a coffee that he described as clean, bright and free of defects.
In 2014, the United States is on track to import almost 75,000 60-kg bags from China, more than 2013 and up from an average of 5,700 bags a decade ago, according to U.S. International Trade Commission data.
(By Luc Cohen; Additional reporting by Marcy Nicholson, editing by G Crosse)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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State's animated video offers primer on ranked-choice voting in closely watched elections
Secretary of State Matt Dunlap's office released an informational video on ranked-choice voting Monday, roughly one month before Maine becomes the first state to use the tabulation process during a statewide election. In the five-minute-long animated video, Dunlap walks viewers through the process of selecting candidates in the voting booth on June 12 and how votes will be tabulated using the ranked-choice ...
By Kevin Miller, Portland Press Herald
Secretary of State Matt Dunlap's office released an informational video on ranked-choice voting Monday, roughly one month before Maine becomes the first state to use the tabulation process during a statewide election.
In the five-minute-long animated video, Dunlap walks viewers through the process of selecting candidates in the voting booth on June 12 and how votes will be tabulated using the ranked-choice system.
Maine Secretary of State to hold tutorial meetings on ranked-choice voting
The secretary of state's office also has posted sample ballots, frequently asked questions, final rules for the voting tabulation process and an "RCV Fact Sheet" to help voters.
"These are the final components of our ranked-choice voting resources web page, which we are providing so that voters can educate themselves about this new process before going to the polls or marking their absentee ballots," Dunlap said in a statement. "I also look forward to meeting with voters to discuss this information with them during my visits this month."
Maine voters will use the ranked-choice system to vote in four elections on June 12, although the Maine Republican Party has filed a court challenge to block the system's use in the upcoming Republican primaries.
The four upcoming elections due to use the ranked-choice format are: the Democratic and Republican primaries for governor, the Democratic primary for Maine's 2nd District and the Republican primary for House District 75 in Turner. At the same time, Mainers will be voting whether to keep ranked-choice voting in place for future elections.
The state's use of ranked-choice voting is expected to draw national attention.
Under Maine's traditional voting system, the candidate who gets the highest vote total is declared the winner, even if that is less than 50 percent in a race with three or more contestants.
In the ranked-choice system, voters rank candidates in order of preference. If no one has won more than 50 percent of the vote after the first count, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated. Voters who chose the eliminated candidate would have their ballots added to the totals of their second-ranked candidates, and the ballots would be retabulated. The process continues until two candidates are remaining, with the one with the majority of votes being declared the winner.
In the video released Monday, Dunlap made clear that voters can skip the ranked-choice system altogether by voting only for a single candidate in those races – a tactic some Republican leaders are pushing because they oppose the voting tabulation system. That person's vote would only count in the first round of tabulation, however.
With seven Democrats and four Republicans running for their party's respective gubernatorial nomination, those races are widely expected to trigger a ranked-choice calculation. That means the results will not be known on the evening of June 12 or potentially for days afterward because all paper ballots and electronic memory drives with voting results must be transported by courier to Augusta for tabulation.
"Determining the winner of each election will take awhile given the size of the great state of Maine," Dunlap said in the video. "But we'll report the unofficial results as soon as they are ready so you'll know who has been chosen for each elected office."
Dunlap is also holding five "outreach events" around the state and online this month on ranked-choice voting. The first was held Monday at McArthur Public Library in Biddeford. The schedule for the other events follows:
• Bangor: Tuesday, May 15, 4-6 p.m. at Bangor Public Library, 145 Harlow St.
• Presque Isle: Monday, May 21, 4-6 p.m. at Mark & Emily Turner Memorial Public Library, 39 2nd St.
• Lewiston: Tuesday, May 29, 4-6 p.m. at Lewiston Public Library, 200 Lisbon St.
• Online via Facebook LIVE on Thursday, May 24, at 6 p.m. on the Secretary of State's Facebook page, www.facebook.com/MaineSOS/


Today, in order to be competitive in a fierce global car market, higher demands are placed on the Perceived Quality (PQ) of the products. The end customer's visual impression of fit and finish are one of several factors influencing the overall PQ. When assessing the PQ of split-lines, the assumed geometric variation of the ingoing parts is an important prerequisite for trustworthy visualization and for correct judgments. To facilitate early decision making in conceptual phases, new demands are set on virtual tools and methods to support the engineers. In this study, a method for early evaluation of the impact of geometrical variation on PQ of split-lines is proposed. Starting from an exterior styling model, mesh morphing techniques have been used to distort the exterior model according to measurement data acquired in running production. Morphing techniques have also been used to adopt previous structural design solutions onto the new styling, in order to make an early assumption of the assembly stiffness. The used method is described and adopted in an industrial case. The study shows that the presented technique can be used to create continuous and correlated datasets. Non-rigid part behavior can be included in early PQ evaluations, even if final CAD/FEA engineering design models do not yet exist.


Arnold Clark Motorstore/Mazda/Kia (Liverpool) sell used cars in Liverpool.
Please call Arnold Clark Motorstore/Mazda/Kia (Liverpool) on 01515154128 about any of the used cars they have advertised on the AutoVillage website.
Arnold Clark Motorstore/Mazda/Kia (Liverpool) provides used cars and secondhand vehicles in Liverpool. Please call Arnold Clark Motorstore/Mazda/Kia (Liverpool) on 01515154128 about any of the used cars they have advertised on AutoVillage.


Aloha kakahiaka! (Good morning in Hawai'ian) Here in Ruidoso, New Mexico we just say "howdy." Happy Tuesday morning and greetings to all you coffee fiends. That's fiends not friends. I know how you really feel about coffee! The purpose of this blog is to unite coffee lovers, especially lovers of Kona coffee, and perhaps learn a little about coffee and all the benefits of coffee at the same time. Originally, African tribes used to eat coffee berries (Yes, they are actual berries containing two coffee beans) with fats. Think about it — fats with coffee beans — basically an energy bomb.
Here are a few tips on making great coffee. Start with great beans. The best coffee in the world is 100% Kona. We suggest, of course, our PANIOLA 100% Kona Cowboy Coffee. Try a lighter roast. Most coffee fiends like dark roasts but we also offer a medium roast Kona. The medium roast maximizes the nuances and flavors of Kona coffee beans. Drink your coffee fresh. After you open the package, drink it all in a week or two. That's why we package all of our coffees in half-pound packages. Store it wisely, too. Once you open your coffee, keep it in an airtight container in a cool, dark place. Never put it in the fridge or freezer. That ruins the oils. We provide our PANIOLA 100% Kona Cowboy Coffee in air- and light-proof bags with a zip lock seal. Spend some money on a good grinder. You could spend $100 but how you grind your coffee affects how it tastes. Get a conical burr grinder. Use good water. I use bottled drinking water at trade shows. Not distilled water. If your water is good at home, use cold tap water, not hot tap water because you might get extra minerals from your hot water heater. Keep your coffee-maker clean. Minerals build up in a coffee maker from the repeated water heatings. So clean out your coffee-maker every couple of months to prevent scaling. And then experiment. Start by varying the simple things like your coffee-to-water ratio, brewing time, and grind size. Then keep going!
Do you want FREE coffee? The first member of the Kona Coffee Fiends group who comes to the Kona Cowboy Coffee Company's Cowboy Coffee Saloon at upcoming events will get a free, that's FREE bag of CAFE PINON de Nuevo Mexico...our newest fusion coffee made with a proprietary blend of central American coffees and real New Mexico pine nuts!
The purpose of this blog is to unite Kona coffee lovers and perhaps learn a little about coffee and all the benefits of coffee at the same time. You can find the Kona Coffee Fiends group on Facebook and we'd appreciate it if Facebook users would "LIKE" the Kona Cowboy Coffee Company page at www.facebook.com/pages/Kona-Cowboy-Coffee-Company/222070817858553. Just copy and paste to your browser. You can also find us on Twitter at @jackshuster.
The Kona Cowboy Coffee Company wishes you and yours a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year. We also want to thank all our direct customers and our retailers for making 2011 such a successful year, and as always, we really enjoy working with you all – we see you as part of our extended family.
You know you're a coffee fiend when you're named the employee of the month at the local coffeehouse and you don't even work there! So enjoy your coffee, make it Kona, and remember, Kona is the home of the Hawaiian cowboy…and we had cowboys in Kona before there were cowboys in Texas!
Could coffee reduce the risk of Alzheimer's?
Aloha kakahiaka! (Good morning in Hawai'ian) Here in Ruidoso, New Mexico we just say "howdy." Happy Tuesday morning and greetings to all you coffee fiends. That's fiends not friends. I know how you really feel about coffee! The purpose of this blog is to unite coffee lovers, especially lovers of Kona coffee, and perhaps learn a little about coffee and all the benefits of coffee at the same time. As the legend would have it, Ethiopian shepherds first noticed the effects of coffee when their goats became hyperactive after eating coffee beans.
Alzheimer's disease is a condition that affects the function of the brain. People with Alzheimer's disease often have problems remembering things, making decisions and understanding languages. They may also show changes in their behavior. This condition commonly affects people over 60 years old.
The cause of Alzheimer's disease is not entirely known yet, but is thought to include both genetic and environmental factors. So far we do not have a cure for it. Several studies have suggested that coffee consumption may be able to reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease. A population-based study found that middle-aged coffee drinkers had a lower risk of developing dementia and Alzheimer's disease later in life. The lowest risk was found in people who drank three to five cups a day. These findings open up the interesting possibilities of the potential role of coffee in reducing the risk of Alzheimer's disease.
The Kona Cowboy Coffee Company wishes you and yours a blessed Christmas. We also want to thank all our direct customers and our retailers for making 2011 such a successful year, and as always, we really enjoy working with you all – you see you as part of our extended family.
You know you're a coffee fiend when you lick your coffeepot clean. So enjoy your coffee, make it Kona, and remember, Kona is the home of the Hawaiian cowboy…and we had cowboys in Kona before there were cowboys in Texas!
Here's a recipe for Kona Coffee Liqueur!
Aloha kakahiaka! (Good morning in Hawai'ian) Here in Ruidoso, New Mexico we just say "howdy." Happy Tuesday morning and greetings to all you coffee fiends. That's fiends not friends. I know how you really feel about coffee! The purpose of this blog is to unite coffee lovers, especially lovers of Kona coffee, and perhaps learn a little about coffee and all the benefits of coffee at the same time.
Found a recipe for Coffee Liqueur from a blog by the folks at Creative Culinary. It only takes about an hour and a quarter to put it all together and it will make a great homemade treat for New Year's Eve. You're going to need 4 cups water, 2 cups brown sugar, 2 cups white sugar, 1/4 cup of Hula Girl freeze-dried Kona coffee (yes, we have that), 3 cups vodka, 2 vanilla beans, split, and 2 shots of chocolate liqueur. When you have all that ready, combine the water, both sugars and Hula Girl freeze-dried Kona coffee in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil; turn the heat to low and simmer for a minimum of 1 hour to reduce the mixture and make a more syrupy consistency. Watch constantly and stir occasionally. Remove from heat and let cool. Next, you add vodka, vanilla beans and chocolate liqueur and then pour everything into a storage container. Let it age for 3-4 weeks in a cool, dark location; stirring once or twice a week. When ready to bottle, remove vanilla beans, bottle mixture and store.
Christmas will be here before you know it and if you wish to purchase our PANIOLA 100% Kona Cowboy Coffee, CAFÉ PINON de Nuevo Mexico or SASS COWBOY ACTION Coffee just call me at 575-257-8593 or send an emule to KonaCowboyCoffee@aol.com. Coffee makes a great gift for someone who was expecting socks and underwear!
We also want to thank all our direct customers and our retailers for making 2011 such a successful year, and as always, we really enjoy working with you all – you see you as part of our extended family.
Enjoy your coffee, make it Kona, and remember, Kona is the home of the Hawaiian cowboy…and we had cowboys in Kona before there were cowboys in Texas!
We're back from the SASS Convention and up to our kneecaps in snow!
We're home from the SASS Convention and Wild West Christmas and what a hoot it was!
Aloha kakahiaka! (Good morning in Hawai'ian) Here in Ruidoso, New Mexico we just say "howdy." Happy Wednesday morning and greetings to all you coffee fiends. That's fiends not friends. I know how you really feel about coffee! The purpose of this blog is to unite coffee lovers, especially lovers of Kona coffee, and perhaps learn a little about coffee and all the benefits of coffee at the same time.
Our new SASS COWBOY ACTION Coffee was debuted at the Single Action Shooting Society Convention! Blended, roasted and packaged exclusively for members of the Single Action Shooting Society, COWBOY ACTION Coffee is a medium dark roast proprietary blend of exotic Ethiopian and Indonesian coffees chosen for their strapping flavor, deep body and unique taste. The official SASS coffee was a big hit and Wild West Performing Arts Society Trail Boss Buck Bloodsworth got a free bag just for asking for it!
The purpose of this Kona Coffee Fiends group is to unite Kona coffee lovers and perhaps learn a little about coffee and all the benefits of coffee at the same time. If you want to unsubscribe go to the Kona Coffee Fiends page, look to the right of the page and…unsubscribe. It will say "leave group." So, if that's what you want to do…click on it. That was easy, huh? If you want to add friends to this group, you may do that, too. And if you want to join the group, click on "subscribe." You can also find us on Twitter at @jackshuster. We'd also appreciate it if Facebook users would "LIKE" the Kona Cowboy Coffee Company page at www.facebook.com/pages/Kona-Cowboy-Coffee-Company/222070817858553. Just copy and paste to your browser.
If you wish to purchase our PANIOLA 100% Kona Cowboy Coffee, CAFÉ PINON de Nuevo Mexico or SASS COWBOY ACTION Coffee for Christmas just call me at 575-257-8593 or send an emule to KonaCowboyCoffee@aol.com. Coffee makes a great gift for someone expecting socks and underwear!


Apex Tactical Specialties, Inc. was created to serve Law Enforcement personnel, competition shooters, and individuals who recognize the need for defensive tools to be more than "just adequate" for the job. We are a quality-driven and progressive organization – their product line, services, and expertise are continually evolving. Their mission is simple: superior parts, exceptional performance and craftsmanship, and above all, unparalleled customer service.
The Apex Revolver Firing Pin is made for a wide range of use, from duty/carry applications to competition. The combination of the Firing Pin and the Reduced Power Firing Pin Return Spring is designed specifically to reduce the probability of light strikes, particularly in revolvers with high-performance trigger action work.
Please Note: This kit replaces both the XP Firing Pin (#103-107) and the Competition Firing Pin (#108-010), and it is now being included in the hammer kits for the K/L- and N-Frame revolvers.


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Episode 36: Simone Miller, Expert Chef and Author, on Cooking Paleo and Gluten-free
Simone Miller is a well-known chef that has been cooking for two decades now. She worked in a variety of restaurants growing up on the East coast. She then decided to take her talents to San Francisco and focus on being an elite chef, recipe developer, caterer, and author. Her own food intolerances led her to turning her catering company, Zenbelly, into a gluten-free, paleo-style phenomenon.
Journey…2:00
- Simone started cooking at a cafe in Connecticut at the age of 19. She never thought to enter into the restaurant business; in fact she was adamant that she wouldn't! In college she kept changing her mind about her career path; she loved food, but didn't want it to be a career. Spontaneously, Simone moved to the Bay Area and became a personal chef and caterer. Through this time, she discovered her food intolerances, which led her to the creation of Zenbelly; a successful, gluten-free catering company. The past year or so she has stepped away from catering to focus on recipe development, cookbooks, and teaching others how to cook.
Simone's Experience as a Vegetarian…7:30
- Simone is an animal lover! She didn't feel great about eating animals; this choice was not for health benefits. Working at a vegetarian restaurant also prompted her to try out this particular cuisine. She ended up eating lots of gluten and soy, which completely disrupted her hormonal system. At the time of her health issues, she was living in upstate New York where there were really strong farm-to-table farmer markets available. Grass-fed, pasteurized, and humanely raised meats were readily available. This is how Simone slowly transitioned to eating meat again.
Gluten-free…10:55
- Simone was feeling better, but she knew she could feel great. Hearing about the Paleo movement, Simone gave it a try. Through this she realized she was eating more carbs than she realized. Once she cut out grains and lowered her carb intake, her blood sugar was much more stable and she did not have the crashes she once experienced.
Cookbooks…14:10
- Simone has three books available: The Zenbelly Cookbook, The New Yiddish Kitchen, and Paleo Soups & Stews. Writing a cookbook had always been a dream and it seemed unattainable. Being a part of the Paleo community allowed her to connect with people who she might not have come into contact with.
- After The Zenbelly Cookbook, Simone connected with Jennifer Robbins, another Paleo author, through an online network group. As Jewish, Paleo bloggers, they realized a void of Jewish cultural recipes. Thus, The New Yiddish Kitchen was born.
- Paleo Soups & Stews started with a conversation with her publisher. At first, she was not interested in it, but the recipes came quickly! In fact at the restaurants she worked at she was in charge of the 'Soup-of-the-Day.' It is safe to say that soups are her forte!
What do people ask you the most?…24:35
- Many people are looking for foods that they miss. They aren't sure how to include the foods from their pre-paleo days into their new lifestyles. Simone wants people to feel more confident in the kitchen; that's her goal!
Advice for someone who lacks confidence in the kitchen?…27:30
- Simone tells people not to feel like it's all or nothing. Start small; cut out small amounts of processed food overtime.
- Don't let perfect get in the way of good. Figure out what works for you; don't feel bad if you can't do it perfectly right away.
- www.zenbelly.com
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If you are looking for unique experiences on the road, take the 2016 Lincoln MKX for a spin. This outstanding crossover was built with safety-oriented parts and amenities so that you can rest easy wherever you are traveling to.
You have a lot of power to use in the 2016 Lincoln MKX, thanks to the turbocharged engine options. The 2.7L EcoBoost V6 produces 335 horsepower and 380 lbs-ft of torque. Fuel-efficiency was a focus for this engine, which is helpful when you have to travel a long way. You can get a fuel economy of 17 mpg in the city and 26 mpg on the highway.
Shifting gears in this crossover is unique since it has an electronic design. All you need to do is press a button to change gears. The ventilated front seats can either be cooled or heated, depending on what the temperature is like outside. Adaptive Steering is also included, a feature that analyzes your speed and steering input so that you never lose control of this vehicle.
You'll quickly notice all of the premium features and materials that have been incorporated into the 2016 Lincoln MKX. Featuring 19 speakers, Revel audio provides you with a dynamic music listening experiences wherever you may be traveling to.
The wide variety of wheel options lets you customize this vehicle to your liking. Some standout options include 18-inch painted aluminum wheels and 21-inch premium painted aluminum wheels. Whatever your flair for style, the MKX has something in store for you.
If you want to test out this Lincoln around Pascagoula, MS, head to a dealership today. Experience the refined materials and dynamic features that are provided by this vehicle.
Posted on June 20, 2016, in Auto, Business and tagged BaldwinMotorsLincoln, lincoln pascagoula ms. Bookmark the permalink.	Leave a comment.


text:
Victoria International Airport parking lots filling up fast for holiday getaways
Lot 2 now being used, as Lot 1 is completely full
Goldstream News Staff
As the days inch closer to Christmas, shopping malls aren't the only places you'll find it harder to grab a parking spot.
Parking Lot 1 at the Victoria International Airport (YYJ) is now full, which leaves Lot 2, the second half of parking spaces, dwindling down.
Travellers are advised to follow the signs and direction of the parking attendants on duty towards Lot 2 if they plan to drop off their car and head off to the holiday destinations.
A courtesy shuttle bus will be making loops to all the parking areas to offer travellers a ride to the terminal.
ALSO READ: Victoria International Airport likely won't see two million passengers in 2019
READ MORE: New wing opens at Victoria International Airport
Parking costs $16 each day for the first 5 days, then $8 for each additional day.
As travellers come back from their holiday getaways, a courtesy shuttle is available to return those who parked their vehickes in Lot 2, until 1 a.m. on Jan. 6, 2020.
The shuttle will be located across from Arrivals in the Short Term Lot.
Taxi vouchers will be available at the Red Coat Information Desk or at the Robbins Parking Booth.
Morneau takes shot at Tories over recession talk in wake of fiscal update
Greater Victoria home to more than 2,100 EI recipients in October


text:
Q: Maximum difference between MORE than two dates in SQL? Can someone help me with this?
It is to perform a query in SQL on a REDSHIFT database. The table has the data loaded as follows.
A client, for example, has a date field that determines her activity in an application:

ID
DATE

customer_1
2019-01-18

customer_1
2019-08-25

customer_1
2020-02-25

customer_1
2020-06-18

customer_2
2019-08-21

customer_2
2020-02-13

customer_2
2020-06-30

customer_3
2020-01-18

customer_3
2020-04-04

I need to group by client and know their MAXIMUM period of inactivity. I call MAXIMUM inactivity the longest period between TWO dates in which it did not interact. To do this with SQL, you should go through all the dates of the same user (customer_x) which is PK.
I do not know if you can help me think about it since I have not been able to do it alone. Thanks.

ID
Maximum inactivity (in days)

customer_1
94

customer_2
60

customer_3
45

A: You can use LAG() for this.
For example:
select
  id,
  max(inactivity) as max_inactivity
from (
  select
    id,
    datediff(day, lag(date) over(partition by id order by date), date)
      as inactivity
  from t
) x
group by id

A: Use this solution
Details
SELECT  T1.ID,
    T1.Date As Date1,
    MIN(T2.Date) AS Date2,
    DATEDIFF(day, T1.Date, MIN(T2.Date)) AS inactive_days
FROM    YourTable T1
    LEFT JOIN YourTable T2
        ON T1.ID = T2.ID
        AND T2.Date > T1.Date
GROUP BY T1.ID, T1.Date
Order By ID,Date1

Desired Results
SELECT a.ID,MAX(a.inactive_days) AS [Maximum inactivity (in
days)]
FROM
(SELECT  T1.ID,
    T1.Date As Date1,
    MIN(T2.Date) AS Date2,
    DATEDIFF(day, T1.Date, MIN(T2.Date)) AS inactive_days
    FROM YourTable T1
    LEFT JOIN YourTable T2
        ON T1.ID = T2.ID
        AND T2.Date > T1.Date
GROUP BY T1.ID, T1.Date
) As a
GROUP BY a.ID

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
UK Houses of Parliament lit with Karthigaipoo to mark Maaveerar Naal
A Karthigaipoo, the national flower of Tamil Eelam, was projected on to Britain's Houses of Parliament in Westminster, Central London tonight, as British Tamils paid tribute to those who gave their lives in the Tamil liberation struggle amidst restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic. The projection lit up the Houses of Parliament with an image of the flower and the words "We Remember" and "We remember the heroes who fought for freedom from Sri Lankan state genocide".
US resolution calls for an end to enforced disappearances in Sri Lanka
US Congressmen Brad Sherman and Jamie Raskin introduced a House Resolution calling for an end to enforced disappearances in Sri Lanka, across Asia and around the world and also calls upon the United States to ratify the International Convention for the Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearance. The resolution highlights that "Tamil families of the disappeared have demonstrated tremendous courage in conducting continuing protests, lasting over 1,300 days to demand answers from the Sri Lankan state, despite being met with threats, intimidation, and harrassment by state security forces." It also noted that Sri Lanka has "promoted high-ranking military officials suspected of forcibly disappearing persons and bearing responsibility for war crimes, incuding Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva, and has failed to hold accountable other current military officials accused of war crimes."
Sri Lankan state crackdown on Maaveerar Naal across Tamil homeland
The Sri Lankan state has intensified its crackdown on commemorations of Maaveerar Naal, the Tamil national remembrance day for fallen LTTE fighters, with police obtaining court injunctions against commemorations in several districts and both police and Sri Lankan army setting up roadblocks and checkpoints around LTTE cemeteries. The Jaffna High Court on Friday rejected petitions against a number of injunctions, with the judge ruling that the court had no jurisdiction to issue such an order. The court however further stated that no one can prevent the petitioners from commemorating individually, but that collective commemoration was a matter related to national security.
Sri Lanka accelerates Sinhalisation across Vavuniya
Local Tamils have expressed concern and outrage after an area previously known as Kachchal Samalankulam in Vavuniya has become 'Sinhalised' and has had its name changed to Sapumalgaskada and a signboard labelled 'Sapumalgaskada Archaeological Site' was put up in the area, last week. The Sinhalisation adds to the expansion of colonisation across the North-East of Tamil areas, where Tamil names have been erased and converted to Sinhala names, and Tamil areas are becoming occupied by Sinhala settlers with the support of Sri Lankan military and government officials.
Kamala Harris - the first Black and Tamil woman to become Vice President of the USA
California senator Kamala Harris has become the first Black and Tamil woman to be elected the Vice President of the United States. Harris' mother, Shyamala Gopalan, is a Tamil woman who grew up in Chennai, whilst her father Donald grew up in Jamaica. In her memoir, Harris writes how she would visit Tamil Nadu almost every year and understands small amounts of Tamil. In her address to the Democratic National Convention earlier this year, Harris paid tribute to her 'chithis' - a word in Tamil for aunties.
Remembering Thamilselvan 13 years on
Today marks thirteen years since S. P. Thamilselvan, the head of the political wing of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was assassinated by the Sri Lankan air force (SLAF). On November 2, 2007 Sri Lankan air force jets carried out a strike on a residence of members of the LTTE's political division. Five other LTTE officials - Lt. Col. Anpumani (Alex), Major Mikuthan, Major Nethaaji, Lt. Aadchiveal and Lt. Maavaikkumaran - were killed alongside Brigadier Thamilselvan, in the attack. The assassination came as the Sri Lankan government ramped up its military offensive in the Tamil homeland.
'The greatest humanitarian crisis of the war' – Press coverage of the Jaffna Exodus
As we mark 25 years since the Jaffna exodus, which led to over half a million Tamil men, women and children fleeing their homes, we look back at press coverage from the time. On 21 September 1995, as the Sri Lankan military prepared to launch its offensive, new emergency regulations were imposed, granting widespread censorship powers on all war-related reporting. All reports had to be run past a government-appointed Competent Authority for Censorship before publication. As the offensive began, death and displacement followed. On October 30, 1995, the entire town of Jaffna, the largest Tamil...
The fight for Jaffna – October 1995
Jaffna has been considered the cultural capital of Eelam Tamils for centuries, as well as being the crucible of the Tamil liberation movement and the armed struggle against Sri Lankan state operation which began in the 1970s following non-violent political campaigns. Following the 1983 'Black July' pogrom in Colombo, fighting began between Tamil militants and Sri Lankan troops within the Jaffna peninsula - first against the Sri Lankan military and in the late 80's, the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF). When the Indian army withdrew in 1990, the LTTE assumed control of Jaffna, except for the...
Remembering the Jaffna exodus – 500,000 displaced
On the day 25 years ago, over half a million Tamil men, women and children fled their homes in Jaffna as the Sri Lankan military launched a military offensive to capture the peninsula, under the leadership of then president Chandrika Kumaratunga. On October 30, 1995, the entire town of Jaffna, the largest Tamil population centre on the island, streamed out in a mass exodus for the safety of the Vanni, which was then controlled by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Walking for several miles east, crossing the Navatkuli bridge, the throngs of people, carrying whatever they could...
US ban on Shavendra Silva is 'legal requirement' says Pompeo
As US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited Sri Lanka this week, he was asked repeatedly about a travel ban imposed on the head of Sri Lanka's army Shavendra Silva over his role in overseeing war crimes. Earlier this year, Pompeo's office announced a travel ban on Silva and his immediate family, "due to his involvement in extrajudicial killings" of Tamils. At the time, State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said "this sends an important message to those guilty of committing war crimes, not only in Sri Lanka, but around the world". "It is also a crucial signal for Tamil victims and...


text:
Bán József (Dorog, 1940. március 11. –) sportrepülő.

Tanulmányai, munkássága

1940–1970 között élt a Dorogon. A Dorogi Szénbányák dolgozója, majd a Pest-vidéki Gépgyár (repülőgyár) és az MHSZ Reptér alkalmazottja. 1955-től vitorlázó sportrepülő, 1962-től repülőgépszerelő hangármester, 1964-től hivatásos vitorlázó és motorosrepülőgép-oktató pilóta, 1990-től kereskedelempilóta. Arany- és gyémántkoszorús vitorlázó sportrepülő.

Kitüntetései

 Honvédelmi Érdemérem bronz fokozat.

Források

Magyar vitorlázórepülők
Dorogiak
1940-ben született személyek
Élő személyek

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


bj spoke gallery announces a call for artists in all visual fine arts media, including video For the annual EXPO competition, artists may submit up to six images and/or two short videos. The juror is Erica Cooke, Research Fellow in the Painting and Sculpture Department of the Museum of Modern Art. EXPO is a national competition. There will be a one month show for the winners in March and an artists' reception at the gallery in Huntington. Find full details at bjspokegallery.org.
Patty was born in Colombia, S.A. and arrived in NY at the age of 3 with her mami. Embracing I Love Lucy, game shows, pop music and old school Hollywood, she's more a child of Disney than Bolivar. Although her birth culture is sewn into the fabric of her everyday life, Patty's American dream is still wrapped tightly around Frank Capra's small town Utopia. Born into a family of artists and women inspires her to continue creating, in every way she can.


In a measure of Turkmenistan's despair, authorities on January 12 halted the sale of all foreign currencies as demand for dollars and euros continued to pile pressure on the manat.
Workers at banks in Ashgabat informed customers that the restriction would remain in place indefinitely.
And while there have been reports on black market soaring, the signs are that illegal trading in foreign currency is being much more strictly policed than in earlier years. Bans on the sale of dollars occurred in the days of the late President Saparmurat Niyazov, when the manat experienced periods of high volatility, but access to the black was in those days far easier.
The official manat rate has stubbornly stayed fast at 3.50 to the dollar since January 1, 2015, when it fell from 2.85 in a sudden one-off devaluation.
Lines have been forming outside banks for several weeks now as people holding manat desperately seek to offload them for any currency they can obtain.
Banking authorities in the nearby countries, like Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, have meanwhile been compelled to relent to varying degrees and allow their national currencies to slide.
Opposition websites have reported that black markets in Mary and Balkanabat are selling dollars at 4.20 manat. That figure could not be independently confirmed.
Customers trying to exchange their manat have been told by officials at money exchange that if they plan to travel abroad, they should use Visa and Mastercard to draw foreign currencies from their Turkmen bank account. Those account-holders are eligible to convert $1,000 from manat into dollars onto their account, although they cannot not draw this in cash in-country.


text:
<template>

        <content select="modal-header"></content>
        <content select="modal-body"></content>
        <content select="modal-footer"></content>

</template>

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


High level diplomatic and political sources on Thursday said that ten European countries are willing to vote in favour of the UN Palestinian flag initiative.
The sources said that ten European countries will vote in favour of the resolution, denying the Israeli claims that the EU countries will abstain from voting on the bill suggested by the Arab Countries to raise the flags of Non- members states at the UN, like Palestine and the Vatican.
The sources added that France will lead the European countries to vote Yes for the resolution.
the UN is expected on Thursday to green-light the initiative in a symbolic move highlighting Palestinian aspirations for statehood.
The General Assembly will vote at 3 p.m. New York time on a draft resolution that diplomats say is almost certain to garner a majority in the 193-nation forum.
Secretary General of the PLO Executive Committee, Dr. Saeb Erekat called upon the international community to support the initiative, saying that it will send a strong message of support to the realization of the two-state vision, and in honoring the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to self-determination.


text:
Q: Using transaction in Spring 3.0 in Spring + JPA + Hibernate I currently using Spring + JPA + hibernate in a project.
Then i decide my design pattern in model dan DAO implementation.
I have a abstract for all my transaction purpose class. Every class( as a service) that perform a single update/create/delete task must inherits from this abstract class.
public class GlobalAbstractTransaction {
 public abstract void validation(DTO param);
 public abstract void process(DTO param);
 public void execute(DTO param){
     validation(param);
     process(param);
 }
}

Then i have another class (subclass of class above)
@Service
@Transactional //using spring annotation for transactional support
public class SomeTransaction extends GlobalAbstractTransaction
                           implements ITransaction {
     //implements abstract method
     public void validation(DTO param){
     }
     //implements abstract method
     public void process(DTO param){
     }
}

The BusinessTransaction is an interface that have one method
public interface ITransaction {
     public execute(DTO param);
}

Noted that I put @Transactional (with default Propagation.REQUIRED) at class SomeTransaction want to make sure that this class is in a Transaction.
When using in IntegrationTest
@Autowired //default by name
ITransaction someTransaction;

@Test
public void testInsert(){
       DTO someDTO = new DTO();
       //apply value for DTO
       someTransaction.execute(someDTO);
}

The result is there is no transaction occured. And the someTransaction.execute which only perform inserting data to database task, was not running well.
And then I move the @Transactional annotation from SomeTransaction, to GlobalAbstractTransaction
so the code would be like this.
Modified GlobalAbstractTransaction
public class GlobalAbstractTransaction {
 public abstract void validation(DTO param);
 public abstract void process(DTO param);

 @Transactional //added here
 public void execute(DTO param){
     validation(param);
     process(param);
 }
}

Modified SomeTransaction
@Service
//transactional annotation removed
public class SomeTransaction extends GlobalAbstractTransaction
                           implements ITransaction {
     //implements abstract method
     public void validation(DTO param){
     }
     //implements abstract method
     public void process(DTO param){
     }
}

Then, the test work, data is inserted to database.

*

*Anybody could explain why this is happening. I can't add @Transactional at SomeTransaction.execute, because it already defined in GlobalAbstractTransaction. Can I add @Transactional add class level instead ?

*SomeTransaction is planned as Service, inside the service I autowired a DAO implementation using autowiring (I don't put any @Transactional at DAO level), that's what most people recommends. I just annotaed DAO implementation as @Repository, the service class as @Service. (note that in my service only perform one task, InsertingService, UpdatingService, DeletingService will be separated in three classes). I'm planning to add another layer for Service Facade ([http://java.dzone.com/articles/jpa-implementation-patterns-3][1]) see link for reference. So i create a class
public class ServiceFacadeBean {
 public void executeTransaction(String name){
}
}
I'm intended to using in the application like this.
 @Autowired //injected using Spring autowiring
 ServiceFacadeBean serviceFacadeBean;

 serviceFacadeBean.execute("com.mycompany.SomeTransaction");

In the implementation of the execute I want to use reflection
using "com.mycompany.SomeTransaction" to create instance. but I always get NullPointerException
 Class clazz = Class.forName("com.mycompany.SomeTransaction");

 clazz.newInstance() <--- get null

And I'm intended that 1 service class, only perform 1 transaction task such as Inserting to database. What to best practices for putting @Transactional, or anyone have good links that really explaining well bout Transaction issue using Spring transaction
Anyone have experience on this, or have any better design pattern solutions?
Thanks

A: I have contacts to a software company in Jakarta that is using exactly the same architecture as you are implementing. They have BusinessTransactions that perform a single task and receives a single DTO as a parameter. The beans are also managed using Spring 3.0, persistence is done with JPA 2 and Hibernate as well. Concerning your NullPointerExecution you should not use reflection neither your ServiceFacadeBean but let your BusinessTransactions be named beans like that:
@Service("SomeTransaction")
//transactional annotation removed
public class SomeTransaction extends AbstractTransaction
                       implements ITransaction {
....
}

Whenever you need to execute this transaction you inject it like that:
@Autowired
@Qualifier("SomeTransaction")
ITransaction someTransaction;

public doSomething() {
    DTO dto = new DTO();
    dto.putString("id", "948392943");
    someTransaction.execute(dto);
}

PS: Is there any way to contact you as I am traveling in Jakarta right now. Would be very interesting to share IT experience directly with you.


text:
Inside Story Episodes
Water under the bridge over the Nile
Can Ethiopia and Egypt reach a deal that will provide 160 million people living along the Nile with sufficient water?
Inside Story 19 Sep 2011 12:11 GMT Egypt, Ethiopia
Egypt and Ethiopia are looking to put past disputes over the use of the water from the River Nile behind them.
Meles Zenawi, the Ethiopian prime minister, has visited Cairo for the first time and together with his Egyptian counterpart, Essam Sharaf, has agreed to set up a team of experts to review Ethiopia's controversial dam project.
But with upstream countries in desperate need of energy, we ask: How long can these new deals last? And who is set to benefit the most?
Simply put, with 160 million people living along its banks is there enough water in the Nile for everyone?
Inside Story, with presenter Darren Jordan, discusses with Dia El-Din Ahmed El-Quosy, an Egypt-based water expert; and Adel Darwish, the author of Water Wars.
Struggle Over the Nile
The history and politics of the Nile, a river that is a source of sustenance but also one of potential conflict.
Tension and suspicion
The battle for control of the Nile is at the heart of geopolitical rivalries - both old and new - in the region.
Egypt, Ethiopia, Israel, Water, Middle East
Masters no more
Legacy of dispute
Nile agreements
Senate trial gets under way in earnest on Tuesday as Democrats, Republicans battle over rules governing the proceedings.


I have worked as an editorial consultant, both freelance and with the Andrew Nurnberg Agency, for eight years, and read and reported on manuscripts for The Literary Consultancy for six. In that time, I've helped many writers refine their manuscripts to readiness, and move on to the excitement of submission, representation and publication. I've also helped clients deal with the painful realisation that their current book may be a training effort, and enabled them to get the maximum of useful experience and knowledge from the process.
I'm also part of Team Down the Rabbit Hole, a radio show about children's books broadcast monthly on Resonance FM – you can listen to episodes here: http://dtrhradio.com/episodes/. Other broadcast experience includes Women's Hour, The Today Programme and Sky News.


text:
CALL +91 99869 39010 | EMAIL : MAIL@RAINTREEMEDIA.COM
Brand Advisory
High on music and mixology
Uncategorized / July 5, 2007 / Raintree Media
a Raintree Media Event & PR Initiative
Bangalore's latest happening lounge Madira opened with a resounding crescendo as the brand new band KARMA6 made its debut to rave reviews on June 30, 2007.
Music and mixology sure does make a heady combination, going by the high praise lavished by Bangalore's glitterati after the powerhouse performance.
Mentored by star music composer Sandeep Chowta, Karma6 is an assembly of Bangalore's finest musical talents. Chowta endured a 5-hour-long wait inside the plane on the tarmac of Mumbai airport to reach Bangalore just in time to introduce his band, which has Alwyn Fernandes and Tony Das on guitars, K.N. Prakash on bass, Tillu on the drums, Karan Joseph on keyboards and vocalist Mark Lazaro.
Chowta, who now heads Columbia India, said he returned to Bangalore to put together a band of international calibre because of the talent that abounds in his home town. "I just had to scratch the surface to find these guys. It isn't hard to spot world class talent in Bangalore; it's everywhere you look," he said. He certainly seems to have picked the best that Bangalore has to offer, if Karma6's performance at the launch was anything to go by.
Even as the rain swirled outside, Karma6's high energy performance had the packed audience foot-tapping and soon breaking out into exuberant dance to classic covers. From Queen's 'Too much love will kill you' and Van Halen's 'Jump' to John Mayer's 'Belief' and Steely Dan's 'Bodhisattva', Karma6 delighted the audience, which insisted on several encores.
The band couldn't have picked a better venue for its debut. The guests at the event, which was organised by Raintree Media, included fashion guru Prasad Bidapa, Sandeep and Tanya Khosla, designers Manoviraj Khosla, Raj Shroff, Neetu Gupta and Paresh Lamba, Harish Bijoor, Raghava and Nethra, and a slew of top models and music lovers from across the spectrum of media, entertainment and the corporate sector.
Madira pioneers the concept of mixology in India, where the emphasis is on personalised attention. Says V. Sridhar, M.D. of Rendezvous Restaurants, "We have eight bartenders stationed across Madira's three levels, mixing drinks according to what the customer likes. At Madira, the bartender comes to you, not the other way around. We're looking at developing a relationship with customers, so that the next time they come in, we'll have their favourite drink waiting for them."
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Need a primer on problems that overtook former Superintendent Denise Birdwell and the Scottsdale Unified School District? Here's what we know now.
Hundreds of Scottsdale residents, parents and teachers line the street outside Coronado High School Feb. 13, 2018, ahead of a school board meeting to call for new district leadership.
The Scottsdale school board in April agreed to pay Superintendent Denise Birdwell $150,000 to end her contract a year early.
A month later, a grand jury indicted the Scottsdale Unified School District's former chief financial officer, Laura Smith, on 11 felony charges involving fraud and conflicts of interest.
The Arizona Attorney General's Office launched a civil and criminal investigation into Scottsdale schools in December. Both are ongoing, AG's Office spokeswoman Mia Garcia said in May, following Smith's indictment.
Questions began swirling around the district of some 24,000 students in early 2017. Parents initially were concerned by a lack of community input on a school renovation project, but their questions broadened as their concerns deepened. They soon raised questions about district finances, bidding practices, potential conflicts of interest and cronyism.
The school board and Birdwell largely dismissed the complaints, which grew louder. In November, the district hired an outside attorney to conduct its own investigation.
The fallout continues, but here's what we know now.
Two checks for $30,000 from the former head of Hunt & Caraway Architects topped the 11-page list of allegations against the superintendent.
The board approved the statement of charges against Birdwell on March 20, including that she failed to disclose a substantial personal interest in Hunt & Caraway Architects, the firm she recommended and later approved for the district to hire.
Birdwell received a $15,000 check from Hunt & Caraway's Brian Robichaux while she was negotiating to join the Scottsdale district in January 2016. A second payment, which went to someone with whom Birdwell shares a joint bank account, followed in April 2016.
Later in the statement of charges, the district notes Birdwell shares an account with the sister of Louis Hartwell, who was the district's chief operations officer. The Arizona Republic has reported that the two live in the same home. Birdwell has said they are friends and she rents a room.
Scottsdale resident Dan Drake expresses frustration with Scottsdale schools' deal with Superintendent Denise Birdwell.
The district's statement of charges also says the district learned about checks to Birdwell from Hunt & Caraway for "significant amounts" in 2015. All checks were signed by Robichaux.
Birdwell, whose base salary was $204,000, had a contract with Scottsdale through June 2019.
The school board opted to settle with Birdwell on April 6 to avoid the drawn out and potentially costly litigation of firing her with cause.
Birdwell hired Hartwell, the brother of her roommate, in 2016. She said he was the most qualified person for the job, but critics questioned his credentials to oversee district construction projects.
In February, Hartwell submitted his resignation, effective June 30. Instead, the board placed him on administrative leave and began the termination process against him March 20.
The district's eight pages of allegations against him largely pertained to sloppy procurement related to millions of dollars in school renovation projects. For instance, the statement of charges allege he approved work with blanket purchase orders that offered no line-item details.
He also allegedly approved payments to Hunt & Caraway Architects at a higher-than-negotiated rate.
The document notes Hartwell claims on multiple websites to have a bachelor's degree from University of Kentucky and an MBA from Rutgers University, although he holds neither degree. He did not make the false claims on his district application, but the "false claims publicly undermines his credibility and reputation for truthfulness," according to the statement of charges.
His position in the district requires an MBA, which he does not have, the document notes.
Hartwell failed to disclose recent work history on his district application, including that he previously worked in the Higley Unified School District, which would have disclosed his business ties to Birdwell. She previously served as Higley's superintendent.
While Birdwell hired Hartwell as a contractor and an employee during her tenure leading the Higley Unified School District, she also hired her roommate's son, Hartwell's nephew.
In the end, the board opted to settle with Hartwell and pay him a $30,000 severance package.
Assistant Superintendent Pam Sitton, who oversaw personnel, was placed on leave April 16.
The 10-year district employee notified the district on May 15 that she would resign at the end of July as part of a separation agreement that concludes an internal investigation into allegations of misconduct, according to district documents.
Susan Segal, an outside attorney hired by the district to investigate, said one of the issues the district considered was a stipend paid to a principal without the school board's approval.
The board placed Smith, the CFO, on paid leave Jan. 22 while under district investigation. She resigned days later.
Smith faced conflict-of-interest concerns over her ties to a Mesa-based consulting firm.
Smith, who served as the district's CFO less than a year, previously co-owned and led Professional Group Public Consulting, which did work for the district. Smith disclosed that potential conflict of interest, but she did not disclose that her sister now leads the company.
District records obtained by The Republic show Smith signed off on purchase orders and change orders related to the district's use of the consulting firm.
Susan Segal, the outside attorney handling the district's investigation, said Smith's conflicts of interest violate state law and district policy. Segal questioned whether the alleged violation was inadvertent, as Smith contended in her resignation letter.
On May 8, a grand jury indicted Smith on two counts related to fraud and nine counts related to conflicts of interest, according to Maricopa County Superior Court documents. The indictment followed an investigation by the Attorney General's Office and Office of the Auditor General.
An Auditor General's report released May 14 says Smith received $28,430 from PGPC after she was hired by the district. Smith reportedly divested her ownership in PGPC, but she continued to receive commission, hourly wages, travel and other reimbursements, according to the report.
"Although Ms. Smith should have known she was required to disclose her substantial interest in PGPC and refrain from participating in any district decisions affecting PGPC, she failed to do either," the report states.
Who knew about Smith's conflict and when?
Board members and Birdwell initially said they did not know that Smith's sister operated the consulting firm doing business with the district until November 2017.
However,The Republic obtained an email that a resident sent to two board members five months earlier, alerting them that the woman leading the consulting firm was Smith's sister. After a request by The Republic for comment, Birdwell said she reviewed her old emails and confirmed she was forwarded the email on June 22. The superintendent said she should have looked into the allegations sooner.
Birdwell said in her email, "I discounted them. Hindsight being 20/20, I regret not researching the accusation (involving Smith) immediately."
Among the allegations against Birdwell released in the district's statement of charges against her on March 20 is that she knew about Smith's family ties as early as 2010.
What is the Arizona AG's civil lawsuit about?
The AG's Office alleges the district, an architecture firm hired by the district and its former principal architect violated state procurement laws in selecting construction companies for two school projects, according to the civil suit filed in Maricopa County Superior Court on Feb. 22.
The AG's Office alleges Brian Robichaux, former principal with Hunt & Caraway Architects, unlawfully influenced the outcome of the bid process for construction companies at Hohokam and Cheyenne elementary schools.
The AG's Office found another problem with Robichaux's work on the committee, "ostensibly as the statutorily required registered architect," that selected a construction manager for work at Hohokam Elementary. State law requires that such committees include at least one registered architect or engineer. Robichaux was not a registered architect in Arizona, so the contracts should be voided, the complaint says.
The district, in an agreement with the AG's Office, suspended the construction management contract at Hohokam Elementary School and convened a new selection committee to re-evaluate the construction management contract at Cheyenne Traditional School.
On March 6, the committee gave Mesa-based Chasse Building Team the top score, which allows the company to finish the nearly completed project. The AG's Office observed the committee's re-evaluation process.
The agreement did not dismiss the lawsuit or the AG's ability to ensure the district's compliance with procurement law, according to the document.
Any other concerns related to Hunt & Caraway?
The district hired Hunt & Caraway in early 2016 to provide information about the cost of renovations to help district officials shape a proposed bond request that went to voters later that year, records show.
Hunt & Caraway sought payment for that work weeks before it was awarded the 2016 contract for a master-plan analysis. According to Segal, the outside attorney the district hired to investigate concerns, Hunt & Caraway was qualified to work for Scottsdale schools based on a 2013 bid.
After voters approved the $229 million bond request, the architectural firm was awarded the renovation contract with no further bidding process.
Segal found the district did not break the law in hiring Hunt & Caraway, although the district may have overpaid the firm. Segal also reported that Hunt & Carway failed to disclose its then-president, co-owner and principal architect, Robichaux, was convicted of a felony in 1998. The felony theft charge involved a contract with the Arizona Department of Transportation. Court records do not show that Robichaux ever made full restitution.
He resigned from the architecture firm in November.
Concerns about Hunt & Caraway Architects and Robichaux again surfaced in the district's statement of charges against Birdwell that the board adopted March 20. Topping the list of allegations is that Birdwell received multiple payments for "significant amounts" from Robichaux in 2015 and 2016 and yet she failed to disclose a substantial personal interest in Hunt & Caraway Architects.
Parents and residents complained for months about a lack of transparency in the district's bidding and billing practices.
Many of those complaints focused on the contentious rebuild of Hopi Elementary School, which included concerns that the plan lacked community input.
Educators and parents also were concerned about what they viewed as the superintendent's heavy-handed changes at Coronado High School, which underperforms compared with other district schools.
Critics then began raising concerns about Birdwell's two hires, Smith and Hartwell. Feeling the board was dismissing their concerns, Scottsdale parent Karen Treon sent a memo to the AG's Office requesting an investigation into both hires.
On March 20, following the district's statement of charges against Birdwell and Hartwell, Treon said she was relieved but disappointed it took the board so long to acknowledge problems. "The public has been raising serious concerns for a year. The Board chose to ignore, dismiss and threaten concerned citizens rather than investigate. I truly wish that they had done their jobs months ago instead of running interference for Birdwell and allowing so much damage to occur."
Twice in the past year, residents received letters from attorneys that threatened them with lawsuits after they raised concerns about district business.
Birdwell hired an attorney to send a warning letter to one resident — and she had the district pay for it. A school board-hired attorney sent the other.
The unusual legal response didn't curb complaints. The residents say district leaders' reactions spurred them to dig deeper.
Among the statement of charges against Birdwell the school board approved March 20 is an allegation that she falsely told the board that she informed the risk management trust about hiring the outside attorney and it was authorized. Birdwell was directed to reimburse the district for the $4,312.50 legal bill but did not do so until a day after The Republic wrote about it.
Is the controversy impacting teachers?
Birdwell's education changes upset many Scottsdale parents and educators. The discontent began shortly after Birdwell forced all educators at Coronado High School to reapply for their jobs last school year. She says it was necessary to jump-start transformation at the underperforming high school. Some parents and educators say it was poorly communicated.
Scottsdale Mayor Jim Lane praised Birdwell for improvements at Coronado in public remarks earlier in February.
Birdwell also changed the chain of command for school psychologists. More than half of the district's 28 psychologists resigned or retired by the end of the 2016-17 school year.
The teachers union issued a rare vote of "no confidence" in Birdwell and the school board in January. At the meeting, Birdwell made reference to "politically motivated individuals who like to shift the focus of the Scottsdale district away from accountability and learning."
"We find ourselves being bullied online, cyberattacks, personal attacks, harassment of a district that is truly focused on learning," Birdwell said in prepared remarks at a packed meeting.
"And meanwhile we have a media that has been promoting stories that have very little merit. One might even define it as 'fake news.' "
Julie Cieniawski, president of the Scottsdale Education Association, said Birdwell's remarks underscore the frayed relationship between the school's leadership and its teachers and parents.
Cieniawski said an "overwhelming majority" of the association's 1,200 teacher members took a December survey and more than 92 percent of the respondents said they "have no confidence in Dr. Birdwell."
Birdwell was an assistant superintendent in the Dysart Unified School District in Surprise from 2004 to 2007. She then moved to Higley Unified School District in Gilbert.
She retired as Higley superintendent in 2015.
Scottsdale hired Birdwell as interim superintendent in January 2016 after David Peterson's abrupt resignation. In late 2016, the school board approved a permanent contract with Birdwell through June 2019.
The Scottsdale school board has five elected board members who serve four-year terms.
They include: President Barbara Perleberg, Vice President Kim Hartmann, Allyson Beckham, Pam Kirby and Sandy Kravetz.
Kirby was first elected in 2010, Perleberg in 2012, Hartmann in 2014 and Beckham and Kravetz in 2016.
The school board election on Nov. 6 may be competitive as 10 residents expressed early interest in vying for two board seats on the ballot. This would be a stark contrast from 2016 when candidates ran unopposed.
Records show Hartmann and Kirby have pulled paperwork to seek re-election. Potential challengers who also have pulled paperwork include David Alger, Patty Beckman, Nancy Cantor, Erik Francis, Jann-Michael Greenburg, Emily Hinchman, Michael Peabody and Stuart Rhoden.
Candidates can file to appear on the ballot from July 9 to Aug. 8.
Who's leading the district now?
Amy Fuller has led the district since the school board placed Superintendent Denise Birdwell on leave in February.
Birdwell hired Fuller to lead improvements at Coronado High School last year. Fuller continues in that role as she also serves as acting superintendent.
The school board hasn't yet decided if it will hire an interim superintendent to lead the district on a longer-term basis as it searches for a permanent leader.
Some Scottsdale residents say Fuller is not the fresh leadership the district needs, while others say she's done a fair job since joining the district.
RELATED: Who is Scottsdale schools' acting Superintendent Amy Fuller?
Republic reporters Joshua Bowling, Ricardo Cano contributed to this article.
Got a tip? Email carrie.watters@arizonarepublic.com.


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Water Policy News: Third Week of the 2021 Session
Easy Action for Clean Water
Each week of the legislative session, we share an easy action for clean water, it only takes a few minutes and it is the most urgent call to action.
Easy Action: Join the House Judiciary's virtual public hearing on the Water Quality Standards Rule on Monday, 3/1 at 9:00AM. If you plan to speak during the hearing you MUST REGISTER TO SPEAK BETWEEN 3-4pm TODAY BY CALLING 304-340-3252.
URGENT! Water Quality Standards Rule Public Hearing – Monday, 3/1
On Monday March 1 at 9:00AM, the House Judiciary Committee will hold a virtual public hearing on HB 2389, the Water Quality Standards Rule. Even if you do not plan to speak we strongly encourage you to join the meeting to show solidarity in opposition to the bill. Learn how to join the public hearing.
If you plan to speak during Monday's public hearing you must call the House Judiciary Committee, 304-340-3252, to register between 3:00-4:00PM TODAY. The Hearing will be held virtually via Zoom, you can watch the hearing following these instructions.
Can't speak during the public hearing? Send a message to committee members.
HB 2389 makes changes to a critical portion of West Virginia's water quality standards called human health criteria. Human health criteria determines how much of a toxin can be in our water before it harms our health. The proposal before the legislature allows for more chemical toxins in our water. Public health experts agree that any additional exposure to the toxic chemicals regulated by human health criteria would pose increased risks to our health. Watch a video explaining how HB 2389 weakens our water quality standards.
Contact the House Judiciary Committee
Oil & Gas Storage Tank Deregulation Bill Move Through House
Time to Contact Members of the House Health and Human Resources Committee
A "zombie" bill, that with your help we defeated in 2017 and 2020, that deregulates oil and gas storage tanks closest to drinking water intakes has begun to make its way through the House of Delegates. Read coverage from WV Public Broadcasting, Charleston Gazette-Mail, and Metro News.
HB 2598's first stop was the House Energy and Manufacturing Committee on Tuesday, 2/23, where it dominated the meeting. Get the facts on HB 2598 here.
Delegate Evan Hansen, D-Monongalia, called two expert witnesses to testify on the bill, Dr. Dorothy Vesper, a geology professor from WVU, and Mark Kozar, a hydrologist for the United States Geological Survey. Dr. Vesper described the pollutants the tanks in question could contain – substances like crude oil, barium and radioactive radium. In addition to Dr. Vesper's and Mr. Kozar's testimony, Ruth Porter, the WVDEP employee tasked with oversite of the (ASTA), provided information on the number of tanks – about 887 – that would be impacted by HB 2598.
Towards the end of the committee meeting, which ultimately resulted in the committee advancing the bill on a voice vote, Delegate Ed Evans, D-McDowell, motioned for HB 2598 to be referred to the House Health and Human Resources Committee, his motion failed on a voice vote.
Prior to the vote, Delegate Kayla Young, D-Kanawha, recalled the 2014 Water Crisis when the drinking water for over 300,000 West Virginians was contaminated by a leaky storage tank spurring the unanimous passage of the Aboveground Storage Tank Act. She shared "I just don't think there's anything more important than having clean drinking water… I don't think we should be doing anything to potentially make our drinking water less safe."
On Wednesday, 2/24, we learned that the House had decided to refer HB 2598 to the House Health and Human Resources Committee where it awaits debate. Now is the time to let committee members know HB 2598 puts our drinking water at an unnecessary risk!
Contact the House Health and Human Resources Committee
Lack of Public Engagement by House Spurs a People's Public Hearing
In the midst of the legislative maneuvering described in the story above, we were awaiting a decision on a formal request to provide citizens a public hearing to submit their comments on HB 2598 to the official record. After waiting over a week for a response, House leadership decided to reject the public hearing request.
It is essential that the public's voice is heard on HB 2598, 800 people have already sent a letter to delegates on the bill through WV Rivers' action alert. That's why a coalition of community advocates organized a People's Public Hearing on the bill. The virtual non-partisan People's Pubic Hearing was recorded and will be submitted to the legislature during a House floor session. Watch a recording here.
The People's Public Hearing on 2/26, was attended by over 80 citizens, with 24 providing comments. Speakers were given the opportunity to speak for 90 seconds. Many of the speakers described their personal experience during the 2014 Water Crisis and asked legislators to do all they could to prevent such a disaster again. Delegates Mike Pushkin, D-Kanawha, Evan Hansen, D-Monongalia, and Larry Rowe, D-Kanawha joined the People's Public Hearing and encouraged participents to contact members of the House Health and Human Resources committee to share their opposition to the bill. Send a message here!
Tracking Water Policy: Bills We're Watching
To keep up-to-date on all of our policy priorities, fact sheets and easy actions head over to our water policy webpage, and make sure you follow us on Facebook and Twitter for breaking news.
HB 2389: Authorizing the Department of Environmental Protection to promulgate a legislative rule relating to requirements governing water quality standards
SB 137: DEP rule relating to requirements governing water quality standards
Economic Development and Renewable Energy
HB 2588: Creating the WV Energy Efficiency Jobs Creation Act
SB 30: Permitting third-party ownership of renewable and alternative energy generating facilities. Learn more from our friends at Solar United Neighbors.
Defending the Aboveground Storage Tank Act
HB 2598: Exempts certain oil and gas storage tanks from the Aboveground Storage Tank Act
Fully Funding the WVDEP Office of Oil and Gas
HB 2725: Relating to funding for the DEP Office of Oil and Gas
Urgent: Action Needed to Oppose Oil & Gas Storage Tank Deregulation Bill... Legislation Weakening Water Quality Standards Advances to the House Floor


World War I gave these women a chance to prove they were just as strong as the men who overlooked them. Odysseus found out about Penelope when he went to woo Helen. Graduation from Chicago Academy of the Arts, 2002 The multi-talented actress, Cecily Legler Strong attended Oak Park and River Forest High School and later she transferred to the Chicago Academy of the Arts, where she did her graduation in the year of 2002. She bore only one son, Telemachus, to Odysseus. Her proposal to test the wooers with the bow of Odysseus gave Odysseus the advantage that he needed.
If she tried to throw them out they might organize and force her to do their will. And not only that, pride in her home and family, and features such as hospitality make her one of the most complete characters with Oddyseus. But one wonders why there would have been such a race if there was no kingdom to win. But, these unreasonable laws did not stop many young girls from joining. Answer: If there had been one moral suitor, he would have sent the others away and left himself. Clytemnestra acted like a man and was condemned for it. Her former boyfriend Michael Patrick O'Brien is an American actor, writer, and comedian.
She is a former two term board member of the National Assocaition of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and a member of their Reentry Task Force. She would have woven articles of clothing and items for the household including drapes, towels, and rugs. . Does the way Homer represents her in the poem tell us anything about Odysseus and the other males involved in her production as a character and person? But this topic is too big. Penelope one of the most important characters Homer presents to us in his book of the Odyssey. Question: What did she have to do with the Iliad? The movie was directed by. Is it Mycenaean society or Archaic Greek? She tells her suitors that when you finish this loom knitting, she will choose who he wants to marry.
And they have seen together quite often. What is plain is that she loved her husband and thought little of anyone else. Once the men had returned home from war, they took back their previous jobs now filled by women. Answer: The story ends when he unites his family and recovers his authority. Penelope uses her knowledge of custom to see that custom is interpreted by the suitors in her favor. Any other ideas would be greatly appreciated.
You can look upon what Penelope did as guile but this is not actually correct. However, Calypso listens to Zeus and releases Odysseus. Please don't send a message containing any time-sensitive or confidential information regarding your case via this form. She cannot defeat them so she uses her resourses to prevent them from defeating her. But her skill is often overlooked.
Question: I am doing a research project and need to know a little more about Penelope and her role in the story of Odysseus. How are Penelope and Jocasta similar? Biography Penelope Strong has practiced criminal defense for over 35 years in state and federal courts. Like if she came as someone else into the 21st century who would she be? Litigation of cannabis cases is one major focus of her current practice and overcoming the unfair laws and unjust traffic stops and arrests that lead to prosecution of various indivduals. Answer: The suitors together would constitute a small army of 50 men. Can this matrilineal system be seen in any other ancient Greek works? After graduating from CalArts, Strong returned to Chicago, where she studied at the Second City Conservatory and iO Chicago.
And she could not afford to recognize an imposter. Can you tell me if there was any special design on her clothing that Penelope wore as a symbol of Ithaca? In the Soviet Union women were even fighting in the war. Question: How does the feminist look at the character of Penelope? Answer: Telemachus was the son of Odysseus and Penelope. If a man could string the bow and shoot an arrow through the holes in ax heads that had been lined up she would marry the man. You can say that Penelope is the perfect representation of patience, loyalty and fidelity because without knowing the true whereabouts of her husband she blindly trusts his return, and along the work we can see how rejected suitors presented in its door. Answer: The actual time frame of the Odyssey is perhaps only a month during which time Penelope changes very little. While he has been away, Penelope has been faithfully awaiting the return of her husband, all the while diffusing the advances of possible suitors who want to take of the kingdom.
Would she be considered a slave? He then took Penelope as his wife. Answer: First you should realize that society in the Odyssey is ambiguous. One man a king is like to hate, another he might chance to love. In the Odyssey it is plain the wooers are the evil ones. Rather she operated through careful manipulation of her situation. She prides herself on aggressive, client- focused representation and setting an individualized goal for each client. In fact fifty or more suitors wanted, and expected her to do this.
Question: Penelope seemed to be very compassionate toward Odysseus. As with the case of Penelope the law can be used to protect the vulnerable against the mighty. One of the points that can be made of the story is that even though women are weaker than men there are tools available to keep them from being overpowered. My second question is quite open really, has anyone got any good tips for the 9 mark method question? I have one question, there will probably be section where you have to explain why you came up with. By returning to Penelope Odysseus would claim his eternal fame as a hero.


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Canadian Virtue Signalling Run Amok: The Case of Colten Boushie
by Lonnie Rogers
Things don't change much in the land of satanic stasis commonly known as Canada. The snow's on the ground, the Queen's on her throne, and the red death holds sway over all. That's how it's been since time immemorial. So when the very occasional win comes the way of the kinist, the effect is akin to a powerful Chinook wind pushing away forty below temperatures, at least for a season. And God in His mercy has delivered just such a balm our way this winter.
On August 9, 2016, in the vicinity of Biggar, Saskatchewan, 22-year-old Coulten Boushie, his girlfriend, and two pals – all denizens of the nearby Cree Red Pheasant First Nation reservation – decided to wrap up an idyllic afternoon of boozing and horseplay in the local river by going on a looting and vandalizing spree of nearby farms. In broad daylight, yet. Perhaps the thinking was that most farmers would be busy out in the fields with the season's early combining, or late haying. Or perhaps there was no thinking involved whatsoever. At any rate, after smashing a few things at a couple of places, they moseyed into the yard of Gerald Stanley, and soon discovered this was one paleface they ought not to have monkeyed with.
According to eyewitness testimony, Stanley and his son were mending fences on their property while his wife was mowing the lawn at 5 PM. The beat-up SUV carrying the four youths came up the driveway at a fast clip and parked in front of Stanley's garage, at which point one of the braves got out and immediately climbed aboard an ATV, apparently intending to do a little joyriding, while the SUV itself proceeded to the house. Son Sheldon hollered and ran over, at which point, according to the Stanleys, the vehicle attempted to run him over. Gerald Stanley sensibly headed to his other shop, coming out brandishing a Tokarev semi-automatic pistol he kept there, and fired some warning shots in the air. Boushie was in the SUV's back seat this whole time, drunk as a skunk and with a stockless .22 rifle beside him to boot. His three companions took off running down the driveway in the wake of the girlfriend's punching of Mrs. Stanley after she came over in her lawnmower to see what was going on – and the girlfriend verified this in court. Boushie scrambled into the SUV's front seat and turned on the ignition, but Stanley reached in the window to turn off the ignition, leading to a struggle and the Tokarev firing, killing Boushie instantly. The family immediately called the police, and Stanley was arrested and charged with second-degree murder, to which he pleaded not guilty.
After a lengthy trial that captivated much of the province and the country, on February 8, 2018, the jury delivered its verdict…not guilty.
Do my ears deceive me?? Do you mean to tell me that in the Dudley Do-Right police state of Cuba North, self-preservation of one's own family is still a legitimate defence from time to time?? Glory be! Gerald Stanley walked out of the Battleford courthouse an exonerated man that day.
But have no fear. Canada's left-wing elites, at both the executive level and at the grassroots, exploded in outrage over the 'injustice' of the entire affair. This verdict dropped their court victory average for the past fifty years to a completely unacceptable .999, after all!1
So Canada's oversized SJW coterie, inspired by the reasonableness of their brethren to the south, touched up the dye in their hair, cleaned their hornrim glasses, threw on the Communist tees they received in the mail from Amazon this week, and took to the streets coast to coast, lamenting the newly-sainted indigene as 'the Rodney King of Canada'. In obeisance to the prevailing Black Lives Matter trope, a picture of him in a mortarboard was discovered and is now being paraded on placards, a la Michael Brown. His mother says he was a good boy who dindu nuffin. The panoply of post-racial 'churches' from the Catholics to the Anglicans (pardon the redundancy) are taking the opportunity to resume their squeaky demands for a new social order. Al-Jazeera has taken up the cudgels, because it's totally their business. Canadian universities are drafting policies that address the systemic racism and colonization mentality that are rife in all levels of society, and please send us another $1 million check to cover our costs, Mr. Alumni. And of course, Twinkletoes Castro, Jr. – better known to some as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau – had to chuck in his two cents' worth in between global jet-setting jaunts: huffily declaring that Canada 'had to do better' , as though the whole country hadn't trimmed the rose bushes at 24 Sussex Drive to his satisfaction, and throwing in an ill-timed and irrelevant demand that Canadians acknowledge their past sins of anti-black prejudice for good measure. I am not a sufficient wordsmith to come up with a phrase that encapsulates the complete and utter contempt I have for this thing. Bag of fetid gluten, perhaps?
These chattering classes wouldn't know which end of the cow to pitch hay to if they had a user's manual in front of them, so it's no great shock that they have no idea how stewardship of one's family works in rural areas, particularly in very sparsely populated areas like the Canadian prairies. In southern Saskatchewan, being thirty to fifty miles away from a town is considered 'close'. By the time you get on the horn to the regional RCMP dispatch office in Last Chance Gulch to report an intruder, your barn will be on fire and your children will be dead. And don't even bother with the phone call in the winter, as it's likely the transmission tower will be out of commission, assuming it even exists. Irate redskins, just looking for any excuse to jump the rez and go do a little ki-yi-yi'ing against Whitey, understand this very, very well. Two years ago, one of my own neighbors caught an Indian on his property in a stolen truck siphoning bulk gasoline, and was dragged the length of his yard when he reached into the window in an attempt to apprehend him. Thankfully, there were no injuries, but the whole situation obviously could have ended far more tragically than it did.
As whites in Western Canada, increasingly despondent over dismal economic prospects and, what's far worse, an overbearing culture of agnostic humanism masked with a mocking smiley face so that the world may wonder, retreat into their ever-diminishing safe havens and continue to atomize themselves into extinction, we can only expect Indians to become ever more brazen in their trespasses against persons and properties they believe to be without legal sanctification anyway. When Ottawa idiotically deigned to grant them the undeserved legal status of 'First Nations', you better believe they took that to heart, with all the double portion inheritance rights of the eldest son the name entails. And just as blacks have an uncanny sixth sense in perceiving any show of weakness on the part of whites, so too does the Indian. He and his posse will gang up on an isolated white settlement, like a hunting party of Kiowa surrounding a wounded buffalo or a war party of Sioux surrounding a wounded George Armstrong Custer. As our kin in South Africa can tell us with authority, without whites drawing a line in the sand (of their determining) and saying 'this far, and no farther', we can only expect them to take full advantage of the license granted them. Particularly since Nelson Mandela is treated as an unofficial saint by our Indians, largely due to the brief powwow he held with a handful of Inuit teens during a refuelling stop in Iqaluit during his 1990 Canadian grand tour.
The happily unexpected verdict wasn't the only positive thing to come out of this ordeal, either. Over the course of the trial Twitter, that forum for the socially disaffected, was regularly afire with sentiment that Boushie got exactly what he deserved – and on Facebook, an RCMP officer who was stationed on the Cree reservation made bold to voice the same. As could be expected, this incident triggered a separate SJW screechfest all on its own that has threatened to eclipse the surface-deep lamentations over Boushie himself. Even more encouraging, not only did Stanley's GoFundMe page meet its $200,000 threshold, but it actually exceeded it by a further $23,000. As this case has not attracted much publicity Stateside, such donations could only have come domestically, and it's heartening to know there are still enclaves of Canadian whites who still have a strong enough sense of community to help out a deserving one of our own.
Of course, there are still ominous rumblings on the horizon. Twinkletoes's caustic remark about 'doing better' carries an especially threatening tone considering Stanley's trial was a jury trial – and the jury was all-white. How is the judicial system supposed to 'do better' when they have no say over the final outcome? Is coercion in order? Or could it be that this was a none-too-subtle ultimatum directed towards the white yeomanry of the Western provinces? Given Twinkletoes's status as the most visible (if least respected) sensitive New Age change agent in the world, I think the latter to be the far more likely case. And given the widespread derision he has received lately for gallivanting across India playing dress-up and consuming lotuses from the Taj Mahal greenhouse that he really shouldn't have, it's safe to assume he's going to be in an especially pissy mood for a while. And the petty harassment has already started with the Stanley family, as the patriarch is currently being hauled back into court to face charges of that most Canadian of sins – improper gun storage.
But that's for tomorrow, and let tomorrow take care of itself. For now, if we can't celebrate a rare victory in this vale of tears, life would be a dismal trek indeed. Please keep the Stanley family in prayer.
Since the penning of this article, another jury has found a white man not guilty of the murder of a 15-year-old Indian girl in Winnipeg, in a trial so circumstantial that the defence felt no compulsion to present any evidence at all. When the average drops to .998, all us Canadian bigots will be required to attend mandatory sensitivity-reeducating seminars in Ottawa, no doubt. Hopefully they have a decent buffet. ↩
— Lonnie Rogers
Lonnie is a farmer in Western Canada.
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