At London Video Productions our goal is to make you look good and your brand memorable. Established in London since 1999, we have years of industry experience bringing valuable expertise to every project, however big or small.
At London Video Productions our goal is to make you look good and your brand memorable.Established in London since 1999, we have years of industry experience bringing valuable expertise to every project, however big or small.
We create and produce dynamic, visually stunning films that capture our clients' ethos.
London Video Productions has a dedicated team of professionals with extensive industry experience in broadcasting, production, cinematography, editing and online live video streaming.
Ex-Channel 4 professionals, savvy designers, technicians and creative editors are at your fingertips. Whatever the nature of your project, we can deliver on time, on budget, on brief.
We're enthusiastic, friendly, approachable, and simply love what we do!
If you're looking for help to connect with your audience and tell your story, give us a call.
We can help build your business, nurture your brand and product identity with material that captures hearts and minds. Through exquisite cinematography, impact editing and an emotionally engaging approach we can reach your target market and raise your company profile. Whether you are looking to make a video for your website, film a business conference, capture a celebratory moment or provide video training for your employees – we do it all, we deliver on time and on budget.
Capturing a live event can be stressful and often an edit needs an immediate turnaround. We can help!We have rapid response film crews and editors who are experts in this field, so we can take the pressure off you. Over the years our team has filmed many live events including concerts, festivals, award ceremonies, conferences, live seminars, workshops, interviews and news footage.
Creative team = creative concepts. We excel at storytelling and love to collaborate with artists and musicians to produce innovative promos. We work closely with you throughout a project to understand your vision and keep going until we get it right. Our aim is always to reflect you.
At London Video Productions we love to get to the heart of the matter. The subjects we have worked on range from transracial adoption, academic achievement of Black Asian Minority Ethnic (BAME) pupils and restoring health through diet after cancer treatment.
In the not-for-profit and public sectors it is essential to work with people who share your goals and values. We are committed to supporting the mission of cultural and educational institutions, charities and social enterprises.
We love telling powerful stories through documentary filmmaking and we embrace diversity and social inclusion. Through our films we are committed to overcoming cultural barriers and building bridges between people from different backgrounds. Our work reflects profound professional and personal engagement with sensitive topics such as diversity, health, education and international development. To support the work of all our customers in the voluntary sector (charities and other non-profitable organizations) we offer them a 15% discount.
Having worked with a variety of people from the creative industries, we are involved in multiple film projects. At London Video Productions we are always excited about flexing our creative muscles. Our professional team delivers high quality films that stir the audience's imagination and sensibilities. We currently have a feature script poised to go into production, which has reached the semi final stages of the prestigious "Script to Screen" Awards.
Using state of the art editing software, our post-production magicians can transform your footage.
Alternatively, should you wish to use us on a hire-only basis, we can accommodate your requirements for equipment, facilities and professional services. Whether you are a novice or an experienced fellow filmmaker who needs an extra hand, London Video Productions can provide a package adapted to your needs. Bring us on a shoot and we will hit the ground running. We offer services in camera and crew hire, training, footage transfer and editing at highly competitive prices. For further information visit London Video Camera Hire.


text:
Q: boost::thread exit code? What is the standard way to get an exit code from a boost::thread ?
The docs don't seem to touch on this subject at all.

A: POSIX doesn't support return codes from threads. I recommend you use a future: C++11 provides futures in the standard library, or if you're on an older version of C++, the Boost.Thread library has had an excellent implementation of futures since version 1.41. This gives you a common syntax for both blocking and non-blocking communication, lets you return any type of object, and as the icing on the cake lets you propagate exceptions out of threads.

A: Since Boost.Thread copies the functor you pass it David's solution won't work in any real-world example.  You basically have two options:

*

*Allocate an array of exit codes and pass a reference to a unique exit code into the constructor of each functor.  Pretty straight forward to implement.

*If you're only creating a single thread from a particular functor, then the functor can hold a shared smart pointer to a dynamically allocated exist code which can then be read by original functor object.

Here are examples of each method:
Method 1:
#include <boost/thread/thread.hpp>
#include <boost/thread/xtime.hpp>
#include <boost/shared_ptr.hpp>

#include <iostream>

struct thread_alarm
{
    thread_alarm(int secs, int &ec) : m_secs(secs), exit_code(ec) {  }
    void operator()()
    {
        boost::xtime xt;
        boost::xtime_get(&xt, boost::TIME_UTC);
        xt.sec += m_secs;

        boost::thread::sleep(xt);

        std::cout << "alarm sounded..." << std::endl;

        exit_code = 0xDEADBEEF;
    }

    int m_secs;
    int &exit_code;
};

typedef boost::shared_ptr<boost::thread> BoostThreadPtr;

int main(int argc, char* argv[])
{
    int secs = 1;
    int exit_codes[10];

    BoostThreadPtr threads[10];

    for (int i = 0; i<10; ++i) {
        std::cout << "setting alarm for 1 seconds..." << std::endl;
        thread_alarm alarm(secs, exit_codes[i]);
        threads[i] = BoostThreadPtr(new boost::thread(alarm));
    }

    for (int i = 0; i<10; ++i) {
        threads[i]->join();
        std::cout << "exit code == 0x" << std::hex << exit_codes[i] << std::endl;
    }
}

Method 2:
#include <boost/thread/thread.hpp>
#include <boost/thread/xtime.hpp>
#include <boost/shared_ptr.hpp>

#include <iostream>

struct thread_alarm
{
    thread_alarm(int secs) : m_secs(secs) { exit_code = IntPtr( new int(0) ); }
    void operator()()
    {
        boost::xtime xt;
        boost::xtime_get(&xt, boost::TIME_UTC);
        xt.sec += m_secs;

        boost::thread::sleep(xt);

        std::cout << "alarm sounded..." << std::endl;

        *exit_code = 0xDEADBEEF;
    }

    int m_secs;

    typedef boost::shared_ptr<int> IntPtr;
    IntPtr exit_code;
};

int main(int argc, char* argv[])
{
    int secs = 5;
    std::cout << "setting alarm for 5 seconds..." << std::endl;
    thread_alarm alarm(secs);
    boost::thread thrd(alarm);
    thrd.join();
    std::cout << "exit code == 0x" << std::hex << *(alarm.exit_code) << std::endl;
}

A: I don't know that the thread exit code is available as that's operating system specific. You could simulate passing an exit code or result code by doing something like this:
struct callable {
    int result;
    void operator()()
    {
        result = 42;
    }
};

void process_on_thread() {
    callable x;
    boost::thread processor(x);

    processor.join();
    int result = x.result;
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Create a small finished soapstone sculpture in this one day workshop. Soapstone is a soft easily carved stone with beautiful patterns and available in a variety of colours. You will be shown how to use rasps and files to reveal the hidden organic shapes and forms within. The final polishing is always a wonderful surprise as that reveals the beautiful colours and texture hidden within the stone.
Materials and dust mask included.


The carte de visite was a type of small photograph which was patented in Paris by photographer André Adolphe Eugène Disdéri in 1854. It was a small, cheap portrait format which made photography available to the masses.
The Carte de Visite was slow to gain widespread use until 1859, when Disdéri published Emperor Napoleon III's photos in this format. This made the format an overnight success.
The new invention was so popular it was known as "cardomania"and it spread throughout Europe and then quickly to America and the rest of the world.
The immense popularity of these card photographs led to the publication and collection of photographs of prominent persons.
Each photograph was the size of a visiting card, and such photograph cards were traded among friends and visitors.
Albums for the collection and display of cards became a common fixture in Victorian parlors.
By the early 1870s, cartes de visite were supplanted by "cabinet cards," which were also usually albumen prints, but larger, mounted on cardboard backs.
Queen Victoria first met her German cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, in 1836, and they became engaged during his second visit to England in 1839. Their wedding ceremony took place on 10 February 1840 at the Chapel Royal, St James's Palace.
Dressed….I wore a white satin gown with a very deep flounce of Honiton, imitation of old. I wore my Turkish diamond necklace and earrings, and Albert's beautiful sapphire brooch.
She also wore a wreath of orange blossoms (symbolising purity) and myrtle (symbolising love and domestic happiness), and these became the most common flowers carried and worn in Victorian weddings.
Their wedding day itself was inauspicious, a heavy rain falling; but immense multitudes assembled to gaze upon the processions. The bridal procession from Buckingham Palace to St. James's begun to move through the triumphal arch at 12 o'clock. It was the first wedding of a reigning Queen in England since 1554.
Queen Victoria married Prince Albert in 1840; this is a middle aged Victoria and Albert who recreate their wedding day. Queen Victoria chose to marry in a white silk satin gown featuring Honiton lace, an unusual color choice for bridal gowns at the time; she started the white wedding gown tradition that remains today.
1863 Princess Alexandra Of Denmark, later Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India as the wife of King-Emperor Edward VII.
Princess Louise (1848-1939) in her wedding dress. Married 1871, John Douglas Sutherland Campbell (1845–1914), Marquess of Lorne, later 9th Duke of Argyll.
Princess Helena (1846-1923) in her wedding dress. Married 1866, Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein (1831–1917); 4 sons (1 still-born), 2 daughters.
1885 Princess Beatrice, the fifth daughter and youngest child of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Married 1885, Prince Henry of Battenberg (1858–1896); 3 sons, 1 daughter (Victoria Eugenie, Queen of Spain).
Victoria of Baden. She married in Karlsruhe on 20 September 1881 Crown Prince Gustaf of Sweden and Norway, the son of King Oscar II of Sweden and Norway and Sofia of Nassau.
Baroness Christine von Linden (1879-1969). She married diplomat and adventurer Cecil Gosling (1870-1943) on the 13th of May 1898. They married in London. She was the only daughter of Baron Adhémar Rudolph Caesar Conradin von Linden from Germany and Helene Euphrosyne Casavetti from London.


On April 04, 1952, in Lowell, MA, Robert and Muriel (Fulford) Peters welcomed their son, William (Bill) Andrew Peters to the world. Bill was affectionately referred to as the "caboose", or the 4th and supposed final child to the Peters family, and the nickname, "Cabbie" Or "Cab" stuck even after his two younger siblings were born.
While Bill was raised in Billerica, MA, his father would often take he and his brothers on hunting, fishing and camping trips further north to Maine and New Hampshire. Bill never felt more at home than he did in the Maine woods, so he chose to make it his permanent home, moving to Auburn in January of 1980.
Bill accepted a position working for the then Allied Container and made it his life long career, working from 1980-2017. Though he became disabled in 2003 as a Shift Superintendent, Bill was always proud of his hardworking team who broke record after record on the production floor.
It was there that he met his wife of 36 years, Kathleen Cosgrove. Though at first she resisted his charms, stating he was much too old for her (5 years her senior) she eventually gave in and accepted a date (though if you ask Bill, it was the other way around). Once Bill won over Kathy's son, Deryk, they were married on July (Or was it June?) 18, 1981.
Their daughters, Sarah and Megan came along in the following years, completing the family. The Peters Family spent many wonderful years living a traditional Maine Family life, hunting and fishing, camping and exploring the woods, gardening in the summer and shoveling snow in the winter.
Bill was the kind of man who liked to give back to his community, so in 1984 he joined the Canton Volunteer Fire Department, actively serving to the level of Assistant Fire Chief before he resigned in 1998.
In August of 1998 Bill was diagnosed with Type II Diabetes. Being the kind of man he was, Bill would not let sickness define him. In October of 1998, Deryk moved home from the Navy and for a few short months life was sweet and the family was together again.
A tragic house fire took the lives of Deryk and his fiancée, Cherie while they slept on January 28, 1999. Through this heartbreaking time, Bill stood by his family and continued to provide for them by working hard, both at work and at home.
To say that Bill was a hard worker would be an understatement. He worked hard so that he could play hard and was often rewarded with a hearty moose or deer, a plentiful garden, a cozy hunting camp, and days full of life long memories.
With age came new memories, grandchildren were born and no one could bring him joy like Kyen, Chloe, Lucas and Violette could. As sickness began to take its toll on his body, his grandchildren gave him strength to continue on. He loved them unconditionally and they loved him in return. No one on this earth could top their Buppa.
Bill endured so much in the last years of his life that his grandsons began to reference him when one of them got hurt or something they were doing was difficult, one would encourage the other by saying you had to be, "Tough, like Buppa,".
Though chronic illness changes people, Bill never lost his ability to make people laugh. His quick wit and sense of humor got him through a lot of difficult situations in his life. This is how he will be remembered. Tough and funny, to the very end.
My Dad passed away at The Hospice House in Auburn on December 29, 2017. His last words to me, after telling me he loved me and not to be sorry were, "Get me outta here," trying to make me laugh one last time, through my tears. I love you, Dad, I'll always try my best to be "Tough, like Buppa".
Special thanks to the Nurses and Therapists At Androscoggin Home Care and The Hospice House and to Danielle Withers At Fresenius Medical Care for continuously going above and beyond for my Dad.
Bill is survived by his wife, Kathy; Daughters, Sarah Teixeira and husband, Justin, Megan Peters and spouse, Scot; grandchildren, Kyen, Lucas and Violette Teixeira and Chloe Maxim all of Sumner. Siblings, Jim Peters and wife, Linda, Steve Peters, and Gail Daye and husband Jim all of Oregon, Robert Peters Jr and wife Dianne of Bath, Janet Colley of Georgetown and many nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his parents and his son, Deryk.
A celebration of life ceremony will be held at the Boofy Quimby Memorial Center in Turner, Maine on Saturday, January 13, from 1-3 PM. Ceremony is pot luck. Please bring finger foods to share.


text:
Glengarry Glen Ross features St. Augustine actors at Players By The Sea
BOB FELDHEIM
Two respected, St. Augustine-based veteran actors - Lawrence Hession and Lou Agresta - are reasons enough to want to see the current (and all-too-rare) production, at Players By The Sea, of David Mamet's gritty, gut-wrenching, 1984 Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece, "Glengarry Glen Ross."
In my view, it's the 20th Century's best dramatic play by an American playwright.
More contemporary than Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman," it deals with the trials and tribulations, deceits and desperation of not just one salesman but an officeful of them, over two days.
Their Darwinian struggle is a scorching indictment of a culture that rewards the strong, punishes the weak, and values success above all else. The title of the play comes from real estate developments, Glengarry Highlands and Glen Ross Farms, being peddled by the salesmen characters.
We're introduced to Hession (as David Moss) and Agresta (as George Aaronow) huddling together in Scene 2, conspiring to find a solution, any solution, to their common sales dilemma. They're terrific together.
Others in the all-male cast are T. R. Hainline as Shelly "The Machine" Levene (the "Closer"); Doug Nemeth as slippery Richard Roma; Kenneth Dowling as the unsuspecting target of Roma's guile; Larry Knight as the office manager; and Joseph Stearman as the no-nonsense police detective called in to investigate the previous evening's office break-in and ransacking, and apparent theft of valuable sales leads. All do a superb job.
The 1992 movie version featured a blockbuster cast - Jack Lemmon, Ed Harris, Al Pacino, and Alan Arkin as the salesmen, Kevin Spacey as the office manager, and (a powerful element not in the play) Alec Baldwin as the tough-guy "motivational" trainer sent by the corporate office to shake things up. The film, like the play, is notorious for its use of profanity. Beyond comprehension is the fact that, with all this going for it, the film failed at the North American box office, recording only $10.7 million. The play continues to draw, however; Al Pacino recently returned to Broadway for its revival.
Congratulations, too, to the Director, Paul Carelli, an actor who has excelled at Players by the Sea in thoughtful contemporary and classic roles. His position as an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at UNF may have equipped him to better manage the shady ethics and moral bankruptcy of these money-driven characters. Others on the production team: Katharine Thames, Stage Manager; Anne Roberts, Scenic Designer.
Performances are 8 p.m. Aug. 29-31 and Sept. 5-7 at Players by the Sea, 106 N. Sixth St., Jacksonville Beach. Tickets are $23. Call 904-249-0289 or go to www.playersbythesea.org.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
China Open 2019 – tenisowy turniej ATP kategorii ATP Tour 500 w sezonie 2019 z cyklu China Open rozgrywany w dniach 30 września–6 października 2019 roku w Pekinie na kortach twardych o puli nagród wynoszącej 3 666 275 dolarów amerykańskich.

Gra pojedyncza

Zawodnicy rozstawieni

Drabinka

Faza finałowa

Faza początkowa

Pula nagród

Gra podwójna

Zawodnicy rozstawieni

Drabinka

Pula nagród

Uwagi

Bibliografia

Linki zewnętrzne

2019 w tenisie ziemnym
2019 w Chinach
2019

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


In this Monday, Jan. 8, 2018 photo, Mateo Barrera, 4 originally from El Salvador, whose family members benefit from Temporary Protected Status, TPS, attends a news conference in Los Angeles.
The Trump administration said Friday that it is ending special immigration protections for about 57,000 Hondurans, adding them to hundreds of thousands of immigrants from other countries battered by violence and natural disasters who are losing permission to be in the United States.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's widely anticipated decision not to renew temporary protected status for Hondurans means an estimated 428,000 people from several countries face rolling deadlines beginning late this year to leave or obtain legal residency in other ways.
Hondurans will have until Jan. 5, 2020, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said.
President Donald Trump — who wants to curtail legal immigration and has been cracking down broadly on illegal immigration — and his supporters note that the protections were never meant to be permanent.
Immigrant advocates decried the move and contend that ending the status will drive people underground who have been establishing roots in the U.S. for years or decades, including having American-born children.
For Hondurans, the program known as TPS has been in place since 1999 after Hurricane Mitch devastated in the Central American nation the year before.
The administration says conditions in Honduras have improved, while advocates argue that it still hasn't fully recovered from the hurricane and is now plagued by rampant violence.
Trump, his opponents argue, is effectively adding tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of people to the ranks of those in the U.S. without legal status.
Marta Connor, a 50-year-old union organizer in Southern California who has lived in the U.S. for decades and has three American-born children, said before the announcement that she wasn't leaving, regardless of the administration's policies.
"One thing I can tell you is I am not going to Honduras," she said, noting that many of the asylum-seeking migrants in a caravan that recently reached the U.S.-Mexico border are from Honduras. "If they are coming, why am I going over there?"
"There is no way I will go back," Connor said.
Around 437,000 immigrants hailing from 10 countries have had temporary protected status, a designation created in 1990 to allow people from countries affected by natural disasters like earthquakes or man-made disasters like war to have a short-term safe haven. Only a few thousand still have that status.
Those with it have generally been able to work and with permission, travel outside the U.S. and return.
Countries are added to the list as circumstances warrant, with renewals coming usually around every 18 months. While some countries have been taken off the list, others have stayed on it for extended periods, which critics say turns the program into default amnesty.
Under Trump, the Department of Homeland Security has terminated the program for Sudan, Nicaragua, Nepal, Haiti, and notably El Salvador, which accounted for more holders of the special status than any other nation.
They have been given deadlines to leave or gain legal status if possible, starting in November for Sudan and throughout 2019 for the other countries. Several groups are suing to stay in the U.S.
The protections have been extended for 6,900 Syrians who already have them, but the administration has said it won't take on new applicants. Decisions are upcoming for South Sudan, Somalia and Yemen, which cover fewer than 1,700 people.
Daniel Sharp, legal director at the Central American Resource Center in Los Angeles, said he doesn't believe most immigrants with the status will leave after setting down roots with U.S.-born children, jobs and homes.
"People don't want to go back to being undocumented, but I don't think you are going to see a ton of people returning to their countries of origin," he said.
El Salvador actually had the protections twice, the first time in the early 1990s until December 1994. It's estimated that about 150,000 people were covered then.
Cecilia Menjivar, a University of Kansas sociology professor, said that while exact numbers are unknown, it's clear many stayed in the U.S. when the program ended. Some got permanent residency through family sponsorship, but immigration law has changed since then that "there are fewer avenues for legalization," she said.
Ramba Regmi, 53, a native of Nepal who's been in New York City for close to two decades, doesn't know what she's going to do. She spent many of those years without legal status after overstaying a visa but got protections after an April 2015 earthquake in Nepal killed more than 8,000 people.
With the legal authorization the program provides, she was able to go from working in a nail salon to owning one, where she employs three people. She financially supports her husband and adult children in Nepal, which she says still hasn't recovered from the earthquake.
"I never thought this was going to end, so what can I say?" Regmi said after the government declined last week to renew protections for about 9,000 Nepalis. "This is very difficult."


$220,000 annualized, payable semi-monthly according to normal Company payroll policy. Effective date is July 1, 2009.
Target annual bonus of 40% of Salary based upon Company and individual performance goals established by the Company per the terms and conditions of the Company's Performance Incentive Program. You must be employed by the Company at the time of the bonus payout in order to receive the payout.
In addition to the foregoing, you have the opportunity to continue to participate in all available benefits offered generally to employees of the Company from time to time. These currently include paid time off, holidays, health, dental, life, disability, a Section 125 cafeteria plan, tuition reimbursement and the Company's 401(k) retirement plan, all subject to the Company's policies and procedures. The scope and extent of employee benefits offered by the Company may change from time to time. As a condition to your employment by the Company, you will be required to sign the Company's standard Agreement to Protect Company Property, a copy of which is enclosed with this letter.
The Company will pay you a severance amount equal to six (6) months of Salary paid out over regular Company payroll periods. In addition, following any such termination of employment you will be entitled to an additional severance payment equal to 80% of your Average Annual Bonus, prorated based on the number of months you were employed during the year of termination. For purposes of this offer letter, "Average Annual Bonus" means the average annual bonus earned by you under the Company's Performance Incentive Program (or successor annual bonus program) for the year of termination for performance over the two (2) years preceding the year of termination or the previous bonus payment if less than two (2) years.
you and any covered dependents for your medical benefit COBRA premiums for a period of six (6) months following your termination.
In the event that within three (3) months before or within twelve (12) months following a Change of Control you are terminated by the Company without Cause (and other than as a result of your death or disability), or you resign for Good Reason, you will be entitled to the aforementioned severance package and immediate vesting as to a total of fifty percent (50%) of your then unvested options. In addition, the period for which you will be eligible to receive reimbursement for COBRA medical premiums will be increased to a total of twelve (12) months.
For purposes of this offer letter, "Cause" means gross negligence in carrying out your duties for the Company or any breach of fiduciary duties to the Company, conviction of, or plea of guilty or no contest to any felony, any act of fraud or embezzlement, material violation of a Company policy or any unauthorized use or disclosure of confidential information or trade secrets of the Company or its affiliates, or failure to cooperate in any Company investigation. Neither bad judgment nor mere negligence nor an act of omission reasonably believed by you to have been in, or not opposed to, the interests of the Company, shall constitute examples of gross negligence.
For purposes of this offer letter, "Change of Control" results when: (i) any person or entity who is not a controlling shareholder as of the date of the employment letter becomes a beneficial owner, directly or indirectly, of securities of the Company (or parent corporation) representing fifty percent or more of the total voting power of all of the Company's (or parent corporation's) then outstanding voting securities, (ii) a merger or consolidation of the Company (or any parent corporation) in which the Company's (or any parent corporation's) voting securities immediately prior to the merger or consolidation do not represent, or are not converted into securities that represent, a majority of the voting power of all voting securities of the surviving entity immediately after the merger or consolidation, or (iii) a sale of all or substantially all of the assets of the Company (or any parent corporation) or a liquidation or dissolution of the Company (or any parent corporation). For purposes of this offer letter, in the event that the Company (or any parent corporation) conducts an Initial Public Offering, the IPO will not be considered a "Change of Control" and will not trigger the Change of Control terms stated above.
For purposes of this offer letter, you can resign for "Good Reason" within twelve (12) months following a change of control and within ninety (90) days after the occurrence of any of the following without your consent: a material reduction of your compensation, duties, title, authority or responsibilities, relative to your compensation, duties, titles, authority or responsibilities or the assignment to you of such reduced duties, title, authority or responsibilities.
For purposes of this offer letter, you can resign for "Good Reason" within ninety (90) days after the occurrence of any of the following without your express written consent: (i) a material reduction of your base compensation, or (ii) a relocation of your principal place of employment to a facility or location more than one hundred (100) miles from the current location of the Company's Corporate offices as in effect on the date upon which this offer letter is executed, unless the move is part of a relocation of the Company's main corporate offices.
Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, no event described above shall constitute Good Reason unless (x) you provide the Company notice of such event within thirty (30) days after the first occurrence or existence thereof, which notice specifically identifies the event that you believe constitutes Good Reason and (y) the Company fails to cure such event within thirty (30) days after delivery of such notice.
Any other changes to our at-will employment relationship will be effective only if contained in a written agreement for that purpose, signed by you and the Company's CEO or Chairman of the Board.
This letter sets forth the key terms of your proposed employment by the Company, but is not intended and shall not be construed as an employment contract. By signing below, you accept the terms of employment as outlined above and with the understanding that the employment relationship established by this offer letter is "at-will". At-will employment means that either you or the Company may terminate the employment relationship at any time, with or without notice, and with or without cause. The Company, as an at-will employer, reserves the right to modify, revoke, suspend, terminate or change any or all such terms of employment, in whole or in part, at any time with or without notice. Nothing in terms of employment, either implied or expressed, is to be viewed as an employment contract. Regarding confidentiality, you agree not to divulge, furnish, or make accessible to anyone outside Ancestry.com Inc. any knowledge or information coming into your possession during your employment with respect to confidential or secret documents, processes, plans, formulae, devices or material relating to the business and activities of Ancestry.com Inc.
By signing this letter, you confirm to the Company that you are under no contractual or other legal obligation that would prohibit you from performing your duties for the Company as described herein.
By signing this letter you acknowledge that the provisions of this restated offer letter have been read, are understood, and the continued employment on the terms and conditions described herein is herewith accepted. This offer letter, together with the agreements specifically referenced herein, supersedes and preempts all prior or contemporaneous oral or written understandings and agreements with respect to the subject matter hereof between you and the Company, including, without limitation, that certain offer letter dated September 2002 between you and Ancestry.com Inc. Please signify your acceptance of this updated offer and to further indicate that you understand that this letter does not constitute an employment contract, by signing where indicated below and returning this letter to me by July 27, 2009.
If you have any additional questions, please feel free to contact me at (801) 705-7011.
Accepted and agreed to this 27th day of July, 2009.


By the end of this year, Israel is expected to become the second country after the United States to declare Initial Operational Capability for its F-35s. Already, Tel Aviv has taken possession of five of the multirole fighters,and following an agreement late last month to buy an additional seventeen planes, will ultimately purchase fifty planes. All fifty F-35s are scheduled to be delivered by the end of 2024.
Israeli officials typically describe the F-35s purpose as ensuring the country's continued air superiority in the region. In particular, they focus on how the plane's stealth capabilities will allow them to evade Iran's increasingly capable, Russian-built air defense systems. One mission that is not being discussed is that Israel will likely use its F-35s as a nuclear delivery system.
Although the government refuses to officially acknowledge it, Israel is known to have a nuclear arsenal with as many as 100 warheads. The Jewish State is also believed to possess a nuclear triad, consisting of ground-based Jericho missiles, Dolphin-class submarines equipped with sea-launched cruise missiles and some combination of nuclear-capable aircraft.


text:
In systems science, a  sampled-data system is a control system in which a continuous-time plant is controlled with a digital device. Under periodic sampling, the sampled-data system is time-varying but also periodic; thus, it may be modeled by a simplified discrete-time system obtained by discretizing the plant. However, this discrete model does not capture the inter-sample behavior of the real system, which may be critical in a number of applications.

The analysis of sampled-data systems incorporating full-time information leads to challenging control problems with a rich mathematical structure. Many of these problems have only been solved recently.

References

External links

Digital control
Sampling (signal processing)
Discretization

Control theory
Control engineering
Systems engineering
Systems theory


text:
Q: Android App Graphview not updating in Run UI Thread I am trying to plot my real time ADC data on my Anroid app using graphview. I am trying to plot the data in a separate thread using runOnUiThread but nothing plots on the graph and runOnUiThreadis not getting called repeateadly.
How to run the graphview continuously? If I call runOnUiThread in a  while loop the App Hangs.
Below is my code
UsbSerialInterface.UsbReadCallback mCallback = new UsbSerialInterface.UsbReadCallback() { //Defining a Callback which triggers whenever data is read.

        @Override
        public void onReceivedData(byte[] arg0) {

// lowbyte = arg0;
            // highbyte = arg0;
            byte[] buffer = arg0;
            for (int i = 0; i <= (buffer.length - 1); i++) {
                if (buffer[i] != 13) {
                    if (buffer[i] == 10) {
                        finaldata = rawdata;
                        rawdata = "";
                    } else {
                        chdata = (char) buffer[i];
                        rawdata += chdata;
                    }
                }

            }

            data = Integer.parseInt(finaldata);

            control_a = 1;
            buffer_bt[databuff] = data;
            // }
            //lowbyte = buffer;

            //highbyte = buffer;

            databuff = databuff + 1;

            if (databuff == 767){

            databuff=0;
        }

        }
    };

 @Override
    public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
        this.setRequestedOrientation(ActivityInfo.SCREEN_ORIENTATION_LANDSCAPE);
        requestWindowFeature(Window.FEATURE_NO_TITLE);//Hide title
        this.getWindow().setFlags(WindowManager.LayoutParams.
                FLAG_FULLSCREEN,WindowManager.LayoutParams.FLAG_FULLSCREEN);//Hide Status bar
        setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
        //set background color
        LinearLayout background = (LinearLayout)findViewById(R.id.bg);
        background.setBackgroundColor(Color.BLACK);
        mHandler = new Handler();
        //GraphView = (LinearLayout) findViewById(R.id.Graph);
        usbManager = (UsbManager) getSystemService(this.USB_SERVICE);
        connectionstatus = (TextView) findViewById(R.id.tvBluetooth);
        bConnect = (Button)findViewById(R.id.bConnect);
        bConnect.setOnClickListener(this);
        bDisconnect = (Button)findViewById(R.id.bDisconnect);
        bDisconnect.setOnClickListener(this);
        //X-axis control button
        bXminus = (Button)findViewById(R.id.bXminus);
        bXminus.setOnClickListener(this);
        bXplus = (Button)findViewById(R.id.bXplus);
        bXplus.setOnClickListener(this);
        //
        tbLock = (ToggleButton)findViewById(R.id.tbLock);
        tbLock.setOnClickListener(this);
        tbScroll = (ToggleButton)findViewById(R.id.tbScroll);
        tbScroll.setOnClickListener(this);
        tbStream = (ToggleButton)findViewById(R.id.tbStream);
        tbStream.setOnClickListener(this);
        //init toggleButton
        Lock=true;
        AutoScrollX=true;
        Stream=true;
        IntentFilter filter = new IntentFilter();
        filter.addAction(ACTION_USB_PERMISSION);
        filter.addAction(UsbManager.ACTION_USB_DEVICE_ATTACHED);
        filter.addAction(UsbManager.ACTION_USB_DEVICE_DETACHED);
        registerReceiver(broadcastReceiver, filter);
         init();
        Thread thread = new Thread(null, commRunnable, "tag");
            thread.start();

    }

 Runnable commRunnable = new Runnable(){

        @Override
        public void run() {

         plotdata = buffer_bt[i];
            i = i + 1;
            if (i == 767) {
                i = 0;
            }

            if (tbStream.isChecked()) {
                    // plot data
                runOnUiThread(new Runnable() {
                    @Override
                    public void run() {

                        Series.appendData(new GraphViewData(graph2LastXValue, plotdata), AutoScrollX);
                        if (graph2LastXValue >= Xview && Lock == true) {
                            Series.resetData(new GraphViewData[]{});
                            graph2LastXValue = 0;
                        } else graph2LastXValue += 0.4;

                        if (Lock == true)
                            graphView.setViewPort(0, Xview);
                        else
                            graphView.setViewPort(graph2LastXValue - Xview, Xview);

                        //refresh
                        GraphView.removeView(graphView);
                        GraphView.addView(graphView);

                    }

                });

            }

        }
    };

A: I think I need a handler to pass the serial data to the UI thread. But how to use it?
UsbSerialInterface.UsbReadCallback mCallback = new UsbSerialInterface.UsbReadCallback() {

//Defining a Callback which triggers whenever data is read.

        @Override
        public void onReceivedData(byte[] arg0) {
// lowbyte = arg0;
            // highbyte = arg0;
            byte[] buffer = arg0;
            for (int i = 0; i <= (buffer.length - 1); i++) {
                if (buffer[i] != 13) {
                    if (buffer[i] == 10) {
                        finaldata = rawdata;
                        rawdata = "";
                    } else {
                        chdata = (char) buffer[i];
                        rawdata += chdata;
                    }
                }
            }

            data = Integer.parseInt(finaldata);
//I need a handler here. But how to use it in my code?
            control_a = 1;
            buffer_bt[databuff] = data;
            // }
            //lowbyte = buffer;

            //highbyte = buffer;

            databuff = databuff + 1;

            if (databuff == 767){

            databuff=0;
        }

        }
    };


text:
Q: How to trigger jquery Resizable resize programmatically? I have a div element which is made jquery Resizable. It has alsoResize option set, so other elements resize simultaneously.
What I want to do, is to set size of this Resizable div element programmatically in such way, that all Resizable logic is triggered (especially this alsoResize option is taken into account).
How can I achieve that?

A: You can trigger the bars programmatically. For example, to trigger the east-west resize event:
var elem =... // Your ui-resizable element
var eastbar = elem.find(".ui-resizable-handle.ui-resizable-e").first();
var pageX = eastbar.offset().left;
var pageY = eastbar.offset().top;

(eastbar.trigger("mouseover")
        .trigger({ type: "mousedown", which: 1, pageX: pageX, pageY: pageY })
        .trigger({ type: "mousemove", which: 1, pageX: pageX - 1, pageY: pageY })
        .trigger({ type: "mousemove", which: 1, pageX: pageX, pageY: pageY })
        .trigger({ type: "mouseup", which: 1, pageX: pageX, pageY: pageY }));

I am doing a 1px left followed by 1px right movement on the east bar handle.
To perform a full size, you can target .ui-resizable-handle.ui-resizable-se if you have east and south resize bars.

A: Update: It looks like the internals of jQuery UI have changed dramatically since I answered this and firing the event no longer works.
There's no direct way to fire the event anymore because the resizable plugin has been fundamentally changed. It resizes as the mouse is dragged rather than syncing items up at the end. This happens by it listening for the internal resize propagation event for resizable plugins which is now fired by the _mouseDrag handler. But it depends on variables set along the way, so just firing that even internally won't help.
This means even overriding it is messy at best. I'd recommend just manually resizing the alsoResize elements directly, independent of the UI widget altogether if that's possible.
But for fun let's say it isn't. The problem is that the internals of the plugin set various properties relating to previous and current mouse position in order to know how much to resize by. We can abuse use that to add a method to the widget, like this:
$.widget("ui.resizable", $.ui.resizable, {
    resizeTo: function(newSize) {
        var start = new $.Event("mousedown", { pageX: 0, pageY: 0 });
        this._mouseStart(start);
        this.axis = 'se';
        var end = new $.Event("mouseup", {
            pageX: newSize.width - this.originalSize.width,
            pageY: newSize.height - this.originalSize.height
        });
        this._mouseDrag(end);
        this._mouseStop(end);
    }
});

This is just creating the mouse events that the resizable widget is looking for and firing those. If you wanted to do something like resizeBy it'd be an even simpler end since all we care about is the delta:
var end = $.Event("mouseup", { pageX: newSize.width, pageY: newSize.height });

You'd call the $.widget() method after jQuery UI and before creating your .resizable() instances and they'll all have a resizeTo method. That part doesn't change, it's just:
$(".selector").resizable({ alsoResize: ".other-selector" });

Then to resize, you'd call that new resizeTo method like this:
$(".selector").resizable("resizeTo", { height: 100, width: 200 });

This would act as if you instantly dragged it to that size. There are of course a few gotchas here:

*

*The "se" axis is assuming you want resize by the bottom right - I picked this because it's by far the most common scenario, but you could just make it a parameter.

*We're hooking into the internal events a bit, but I'm intentionally using as few internal implementation details as possible, so that this is less likely to break in the future.

*It could absolutely break in future versions of jQuery UI, I've only tried to minimize the chances of that.

You can play with it in action with a fiddle here and the resizeBy version here.

Original answer:
You can do this:
$(".selector").trigger("resize");

alsoResize internally rigs up a handler to the resize event, so you just need to invoke that :)

A: I needed the same thing for tests. Similar questions have only one promising answer https://stackoverflow.com/a/17099382/1235394, but it requires additional setup, so I ended with my own solution.
I have an element with resizable right edge
$nameHeader.resizable({handles: 'e', ... });

and I needed to trigger all callbacks during the test in order to resize all elements properly. The key part of test code:
var $nameHeader = $list.find('.list-header .name'),
    $nameCell = $list.find('.list-body .name');
ok($nameHeader.hasClass('ui-resizable'), 'Name header should be resizable');
equal($nameCell.outerWidth(), 300, 'Initial width of Name column');

// retrieve instance of resizable widget
var instance = $nameHeader.data('ui-resizable'),
    position = $nameHeader.position(),
    width = $nameHeader.outerWidth();
ok(instance, 'Instance of resizable widget should exist');

// mouseover initializes instance.axis to 'e'
instance._handles.trigger('mouseover');
// start dragging, fires `start` callback
instance._mouseStart({pageX: position.left + width, pageY: position.top});
// drag 50px to the right, fires `resize` callback
instance._mouseDrag({pageX: position.left + width + 50, pageY: position.top});
// stop dragging, fires `stop` callback
instance._mouseStop({pageX: position.left + width + 50, pageY: position.top});

// ensure width of linked element is changed after resizing
equal($nameCell.outerWidth(), 350, 'Name column width should change');

Of course this code is brittle and may break when widget implementation changes.

A: Hack Disclaimer (tested on jQuery 1.12.4):
This basically waits for the dialog to be opened and then increments by 1px (which forces the resize() event) and then decrements by 1px (to regain original size)
just say this in the dialog open event handler:
 $(this)
.dialog("option","width",$(this).dialog("option","width")+1)
.dialog("option","width",$(this).dialog("option","width")-1);

note:
This may not work with show effects (like fadeIn,slideDown etc) as the "resizer" code executes before the dialog is fully rendered.

A: $(".yourWindow").each(function(e) {
    $(this).height($(this).find(".yourContent").height());
});

And the same with the width.


Bangkok — The run-up to Thailand's weekend vote was "heavily tilted" to benefit a party close to the ruling military junta, an Asian election monitor said on Tuesday, and criticised a messy ballot-counting process that created mistrust.
Persistent confusion about results two days after Sunday's vote has diminished hopes that the first election since a 2014 military coup would end nearly 15 years of political turmoil in Southeast Asia's second-largest economy.
The Bangkok-based Asian Network for Free Elections (Anfrel) stopped short of declaring outright fraud in the election, in which both a pro-junta party and an opposition party linked to a self-exiled former premier have claimed victory.
With only partial results reported, the party backing junta leader Prayuth Chan-o-cha has said it is gathering coalition partners to form a government. But the main opposition Pheu Thai party, loyal to ousted former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, has alleged "irregularities", and is considering legal challenges, while also saying it is putting together a coalition government.
It could be days or even weeks before it is clear whether either Prayuth's party or the "democratic front" has won enough seats to form a stable government. Unofficial results for 350 directly elected "constituency seats" in the House of Representatives released on Monday by the election commission showed Pheu Thai leading with 137 seats, versus 97 seats for Prayuth's party.
However, official results, including 150 more "party seats", will not be available until May 9, the election body said.
A fuller picture could emerge on Friday, when the election commission releases vote totals for each constituency, used to determine the allocation of party seats, in a complex formula, even before May 9, but parties are making their own calculations on the basis of partial results and seeking coalition partners to form a government.
The commission has blamed delays and irregularities in early partial results on "human error".
Junta leader Prayuth, who, as army chief, seized power in 2014, is expected to speak later on Tuesday after a cabinet meeting.
Since 2004, Thailand has been racked by street protests organised by both opponents and supporters of Thaksin, occasionally spilling into violence. Parties linked to Thaksin have won every election since 2001, but the populist telecoms billionaire was thrown out by the army in 2006, and a government led by his sister was ousted in 2014.


Guest house Viesu nams Pupa is conveniently situated in Jelgavas iela 37 in Kuldīga just in 1.7 km from the centre. The Guest house offers easy access to nearby locations as Liepajas street Promenade, The Aleksupite waterfall, The old brick bridge across the Venta.
Tourists can use a full range of services: shared kitchen, darts, car park, internet services, comfortable non-smoking rooms, conference rooms, finnish sauna, wonderful garden. Please be advised you can pay for the amenities only in cash.
For the best accommodation, guests can choose one of the 4 rooms in the guest house. Guests can choose from different types of rooms: quadruple, triple, family. Here are proposed facilities such as microwave, washing machine, refrigerator, electric kettle, hairdryer, extra long beds (> 2 metres), clothes rack.
Children and Extra Bed Policy All children are welcome. All further children or adults are charged EUR 10 per night for extra beds. The maximum number of extra beds in a room is 1.
Please inform Viesu nams Pupa in advance of your expected arrival time. You can use the Special Requests box when booking, or contact the property directly with the contact details provided in your confirmation. Payment before arrival via bank transfer is required. The property will contact you after you book to provide instructions.
We have been welcomed very well, and all commodities were perfect, thanks to our host !
This was really cosy and nice place where to stay. It really exeeded my expectations, I`m sure, that I will return there in my next holiday trip to Kuldiga.
I like the facilities they provided worth for our money.
The rooms were way too warm.
Friendly staff, good location. It was spotless everywhere. Good kitchen and WiFi connection. They gave me an early check-in and a late checkout which was kind of them.
The town seems very expensive for accommodation. It was basic for 20 eur with a shared toilet and shower downstairs.
Very warm. Friendly staff. Great facilities.
Location and neighborhood is not very attractive. Rooms are next to each other so if you are unlucky you could get loud neighbors, especially if they are chatting on the terrace up until midnight.
Nice wood new appartment. Free parking car zone. Good location to explore beautiful Kuldiga town. Only five minutes walk to the historic city center.
Location to center and helpful host.
Paper walls, construction workers were sleeping in other rooms and woke up at 6. Could hear every movement. Double person bed was like a brick.
The double bed was very comfortable. Good equipment and nice bathroom, very nice staff!
Noisy when there is work, it was not so quiet because of the work they are doing... but it's not for all day just either on the morning or evening until 9pm.
Nice place, polite and friendly owners. Good location, about 5 minutes on foot to the water fall. Would stay there again.
Very polite staff and speak many languages so no problem at all. The best place I've been in Kuldiga so far. Very peaceful and quiet, great freedom and for the price this is the best you can find.


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Michael Mauboussin: Investment Success Which Matters Most? Luck or Skill
Luck versus skill in investing! How much does each matter to investment success? Our guest this week, Financial Thought Leader Michael Mauboussin has written a new book on the topic. Titled The Success Equation: Untangling Skill and Luck In Business, Sports and Investing, its conclusions might surprise you.
Michael Mouboussin is the Chief Investment Strategist at Legg Mason Capital Management , as well as an award winning Adjunct Professor at Columbia Business School where he has taught Finance for the past 20 years.
In our never ending quest to identify the best investments, strategies and professionals to help you build long-term financial security, luck almost never comes up. Now it will! According to Mauboussin, luck plays a large role in investment success, but there are strategies to use both luck and skill to your advantage.
WEALTHTRACK Episode #924; Originally Broadcast on December 07, 2012
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Chief Investment Strategist, Legg Mason Capital Management
Author, The Success Equation
As we follow the on-again, off-again "Fiscal Cliff" negotiations between the White House and GOP House leadership, (tonight it's on-again according to The Wall Street Journal) it occurs to us that if it weren't so important to the future of the economy, our job and our investments we would tune the whole thing out. But it is important, so we remain captive to the rumors, reports and innuendos as does the market.
Who, if anyone, has an inside track to how the "Fiscal Cliff" saga will end? I have no idea, but I do know that Wall Street firms spend tens of millions of dollars a year trying to give themselves a competitive edge, which is why this week's guest says it is so hard for professional investors to outperform the market and each other on a consistent long-term basis.
How much of a role does skill play and how much does luck really contribute to investment success? Those are the fascinating questions posed by this week's guest in his new book, The Success Equation: Untangling Skill And Luck In Business, Sports And Investing.
He is Financial Thought Leader Michael Mauboussin, who is the Chief Investment Strategist at Legg Mason Capital Management, as well as an award winning adjunct professor at Columbia Business School, where he has taught finance for the past twenty years. He is also the author of several books, including More Than You Know: Finding Financial Wisdom In Unconventional Places, which was named one of the best business books by Business Week magazine.
In our never ending quest to identify the best investments, strategies and professionals to help you build long-term financial security, luck almost never comes up. We along with everyone else are always focusing on measurable data such as performance, price, correlations, and economic and market trends. We also look at process such as a firm or fund's investment approach, a manager's analytical skills and investment discipline, and we pay attention to less tangible attributes, their professional standing, behavior through different market cycles and reputation for honesty and integrity.
But how do you figure luck into the equation, which according to Mauboussin, has a lot to do with investment success? We'll find out in this week's interview
As always, if you can't join us at the appointed hour on your local public television station, you can watch the show on our website as a podcast or streaming video. You can also find the One Investment picks of our guests and my Action Points there. For those of you who would like to see our program 48 hours in advance of the broadcast, you can subscribe to our WEALTHTRACK PREMIUM subscription service on the website.
Have a great weekend and a Happy Hanukkah for those celebrating this weekend! Make the week ahead a profitable and a productive one!
Use Vanguard's "The Truth About Costs" tool on their website – you can see the returns lost and the returns kept over different periods of time depending upon the expense ratio paid and the average annual return you are expecting.
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MAUBOUSSIN: HIGH EQUITY RISK PREMIUM
Underemphasize bonds
"I struggle with this, because I think today the most interesting anomaly that I see continues to be what is high equity risk premium. So in plain words, you think of a risk-free rate of return. In the United States, a 10-year Treasury note is a good proxy for that. And that's today about a 1.8% yield. An equity risk premium is the return above and beyond that you would expect for taking on additional risk on equities. Now, over the long haul, that equity risk premium has been about three or four percent, something like that, and today, by most reckoning, it's a lot closer to six percent. It's very, very high. So to me, I don't know if it's bonds going down, in other words, yields going up because bonds going down, or stocks going up or some combination of these two things, but I have to believe, if you said to me three to five years what's a good thing to bet on, I think it's going to be that equity risk premium shrinking… so it could be, again, because of bonds doing poorly, equities doing well or some combination thereof.
Yeah, so I mean, go long equities would be one answer, but it's really the relationship between equities and bonds I think is the most… equities versus bonds."
-Michael Mauboussin
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"Financial Thought Leader" Michael Mauboussin, Chief Investment Strategist of Legg Mason Capital Management, explains why its getting harder to beat the market and why doing less can actually make you more.
Tagged with: active share • buy high sell low • Charles Ellis • David Laibson • David Swensen • dollar cost averaging • heuristics and biases • investment edge • John Bogle • Legg Mason Capital Management • macro matters • managing for the profession instead of the business • Michael Lewis • Michael Mauboussin • Moneyball • More Than You Know • overconfidence in investing • paradox of skill • peak age for investment decisions • Phil Tetlock • skill vs. luck in investing • Stephen Jay Gould • Ted Williams batting average • the interpreter in the brain • The Success Equation • The Truth About Costs • tracking error • zero active share
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text:
Puerto Ricans are Americans
Puerto Rico is now dealing with the aftermath of a powerful 6.4 earthquake and powerful aftershocks. Casualties are low, and electrical power is slowly returning. But the quakes are just the latest natural disasters to cripple the U.S. commonwealth.
Puerto Rico still is healing from the hit it took two years ago from Hurricane Maria.
Gov. Wanda Vazquez Garced has declared a state of emergency. President Trump has done the same. That's the very least the Trump administration should do. It would be unconscionable for it to repeat its appalling response to Hurricane Maria's destruction in 2017, when Trump practically mocked islanders' pain and suffering, and recovery efforts became a political football between island leadership and Trump.
Vazquez said that she expects more quakes, and called up the National Guard.
Republican Florida lawmakers Sens. Marco Rubio and Rick Scott are facilitators for Puerto Rican aid. In a letter to the administration, Rubio, Scott and Puerto Rican officials urged the president to declare a state of emergency, which guarantees that federal resources are quickly disbursed.
"We have distribution centers around the island and four warehouses stocked with items such as water, ready-to-eat meals, generators and other supplies" FEMA Press Secretary Lizzie Litzow said.
Declaring a state of emergency is a no-brainer. This is also an election year, to be cynical, and Florida, whose population of Puerto Ricans soared after Hurricane Maria, is in play, as Rubio and Scott likely reminded Trump. But more than a year and a half after Maria hit, the president was still talking trash about Puerto Rican leaders, saying in 2019 that they "only take from the USA," while a spokesperson referred to it as "that country."
No, Puerto Ricans are Americans. They vote in U.S. elections.
The administration, which has yet to be held accountable for its ham-handed response to the hurricane destruction, should also expedite the overdue release of unused funding for hurricane recovery.
In December, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development said it was withholding an additional $8 billion in unmet-needs disaster relief from Puerto Rico.
But in total, HUD is delaying the release of two tranches of aid, roughly $18 billion that Congress appropriated for the U.S. territory.
The money is a combination of mitigation and the unmet-needs funds designed to upgrade infrastructure, hardening electrical grids, for instance, and rebuilding homes, businesses and bridges to better withstand natural disasters.
But HUD fears the funds could fall victim to corruption. That's a legitimate concern no matter what country needs our aid. The Trump administration was not alone in its bungled response to Maria — his throwing rolls of paper towels at people during a press conference was only the most absurd manifestation. Puerto Rico's leaders come in for blame, too, unable to get an accurate casualty count, for example, for months after the storm.
However, that fear should not stop progress in its tracks. Rather it should propel both administrations to establish rigorous checks and balances to ensure money does not go into grifters' pockets.
* Guest editorial is from the Miami Herald.
Europe faces a nuclear moment
For months Iran has been violating the 2015 nuclear deal while promising to comply again if President Donald Trump ...
Take impeachment seriously, senators
It would be nice to have faith that, as the Senate receives the articles of impeachment against President Donald ...
Iran should look to UAE as model
The United Arab Emirates has plenty of goodwill and soft power at its disposal to calm tensions between the United ...
Cowardly bid to hide truth
A major hiccup has been introduced into Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's plans for a speedy acquittal of ...
Getaway appears to be inside job
When a former auto boss-turned-suspect does a Houdini act and vanishes from Japan, then mysteriously reappears in ...
Time to jettison FISA court?
The FBI is reeling from the release last month of a report by Michael E. Horowitz, inspector general for the ...
[ VIDEO ] Maui Women's March returns to roots, starts expanded effort
EVohana vehicle charger transfer is conditionally approved by PUC
State tax coffers up
Mayor to deliver State of County
EV charging proposals at county sites sought
Honolulu's Baeza, Boston's Dobbin win Maui Oceanfront Marathon titles


Added by Andreas almost 4 years ago. Updated almost 4 years ago.
Skipping all GSHHG features south of 60°S doesn't work correctly if the resolution was set to crude.
truncates the tip of South America.
Yes, I can see that happening. The crude GSHHG data are binned at 20 x 20 degree bins so that means 50S to 70S, and 70S to 90S. The next resolution up (low) is at 10 and everything higher will also have a bin boundary at 60S. There is nothing I can do but add a check that prevents you from using this combination of crude and -A+as.
Actually, it was simple enough to handle this special case, so the problem has been fixed in r14438.


text:
UKZN Accounting Programmes Retain SAICA Accreditation...
UKZN Scientists Produce Widely Acclaimed Paper...
Humanities Academic Appointed Research Associate at CREST...
Driving Research to New Heights with NRF Thuthuka Awards...
Mars One Project Astronaut Candidate Speaks at UKZN Alumni Forum...
Driving Research to New Heights with NRF Thuthuka AwardsGeneral
Ms Varsha Bangalee, Dr Bongani Nkambule, Dr Phikelelani Ngubane and Dr Onyameachi Azu.
Four researchers at UKZN's College of Health Sciences have been awarded grants by the National Research Foundation (NRF) for 2017.
They are Ms Varsha Bangalee, Dr Bongani Nkambule, Dr Phikelelani Ngubane and Dr Onyameachi Azu.
The NRF's Thuthuka Funding Instrument is a key intervention aimed at supporting emerging researchers who are academics and/or researchers holding academic and/or joint academic and administrative professional appointments at public universities, scientific councils and other public research institutions recognised by the NRF.
Thuthuka grants provide funding for researchers within South African academic institutions on three stipulated tracks. The first is the PhD Track, the second is the Post-PhD Track for applicants wanting to become established researchers by strengthening their research capabilities, while the third is the NRF Rating Track, which is for applicants keen to apply for a NRF rating within the six-year funding period.
Bangalee's grant provides funding specifically for teaching replacement during data capture and while she is writing up her doctoral thesis. Bangalee is a Lecturer in the Discipline of Pharmaceutical Sciences.
Bangalee's research involves assessing and evaluating the impact of private sector pricing and supply chain policy implementation on the access to and use of medicines in South Africa, with the aim being to provide case examples for other low and middle income countries as well as to add to the body of evidence on pricing policies.
After 20 years of policy change, surprisingly little monitoring or evaluation of policy impacts have been undertaken to determine exactly how successful these policies have been in reducing inequity.
'I am extremely proud to receive this grant as it is viewed as a very prestigious award. It also aptly suits my research needs and has afforded me the opportunity to successfully move forward with my research,' said Bangalee.
'Post-apartheid, South Africa, has pioneered several interventions to improve medicine pricing and increase access to affordable healthcare. Despite some clear successes, much work is still to be done, particularly as the country moves toward universal health care coverage.'
She hopes to publish her findings and successfully obtain her PhD.
Dr Bongani Nkambule, a Senior Lecturer in the Human Physiology Discipline within UKZN's School of Laboratory Medicine and Medical Sciences, says what makes his research distinct is the fact that his research unit focuses on innovation, collaboration and mentoring. These are key pillars he believes will accelerate research and capacity development in South Africa and Africa as a whole.
'The grant will help fund work in evaluating the potential therapeutic benefits modulating the immune system in Type 2 diabetes. Understanding the regulators of immunometabolism in chronic disease such as Type 2 diabetes will pave the way for earlier interventions and treatment interventions in prediabetes patients,' said Nkambule.
Nkambule's research investigates chronic inflammation and immunometabolism in type 2 diabetes. His study will look at the dynamic reprogramming of cellular metabolism of immune cells in type 2 diabetes. 'My research group aims to characterise early cellular and genetic modifications that are associated with a shift or switch in normal immune metabolism to pathological alterations in immune metabolism. These will then be translated from laboratory markers into potential point of care tests that will benefit remote communities affected by obesity and at an increased risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.'
Nkambule said the grant application was a joint effort between himself and Dr Phiwayinkosi Dluldla of the Biomedical Research and Innovation Platform at the Medical Research Council (MRC) of South Africa.
Nkambule is set to continue to work towards understanding the dynamics of immune system in metabolic disease. 'My passion lies in mentoring and motivating young researchers to persist and reach their full potential.'
Dr Phikelelani Ngubane, a Lecturer in the Discipline of Human Physiology, says the grant came at the right time - a year after he received his doctorate. 'I was so excited to receive the award - it means a lot for my growth and development as I've always looked forward to implementing some research ideas independently.'
Elaborating on his research grant he said a large number of people in developing countries did not have access to healthcare facilities so traditional medicine was a long-standing alternative. 'There is therefore a need to validate these treatments, often prescribed by traditional healers. This so we can help guide and educate people about which plants are useful should they not be in a position to access primary healthcare.'
The study he received the grant for is titled: "The Effects of Medicinal Plants and their Bioactive Compounds on Diabetes Management, which deals with validating therapeutic claims of some medicinal plants and advancing indigenous knowledge systems".
Medical plants play an important role in the management of diabetes mellitus in developing countries where resources are minimal. The study seeks to invoke more interest in bio-screening of as many medicinal plants as possible for their hypoglycaemic potential by describing the profiles of plants with hypoglycaemic properties reported in the literature.
'Our research has also reported beneficial effects of a number of plants frequently used in southern Africa on some processes associated with aetiology of diabetic complications. The mechanisms by which these plants exert their therapeutic effects however are not yet fully understood,' said Ngubane.
'The overall aim of the study is to investigate the mechanisms by which these medicinal plants and their bioactive compounds exert their hypoglycaemic effects.'
Dr Onyemaechi Azu, an Honorary Senior Lecturer in the Discipline of Clinical Anatomy at the School of Laboratory Medicine and Medical Sciences, said the grant enabled him to investigate the testicular histomorphologic alterations following highly active antiretroviral treatment and the ameliorative effects of hypoxis hemerocallidea in experimental normal and hypertensive models.
'This is the first report to document the potential for complex interactions between traditional African medicine and ARVs as used in HAART cocktails in normotensive and hypertensive experimental models.'
He said Dr ECS Naidu and Professor Anil Chuturgoon assisted in the grant application.
'This research award is a great achievement and a starting point for higher pinnacle of research contributions. We shall be looking at vascular perturbations in a hypertensive mode since hypertension has become a strong co-morbid condition for ART in the regions with very high roll-out of ARVs,' said Azu.
UKZN Alumni Band Africa Plus to Perform at Jazz Centre
UKZN Scientists Produce Widely Acclaimed Paper
UKZN Impi Kick off 2017 in Fine Form
Mars One Project Astronaut Candidate Speaks at UKZN Alumni Forum
Amakhishi Amasha Abafundi Base-O Block
Nursing Students Co-Host Mental Health Open Day
Education Academic Presents Research at Mathematics Conference
UKZN Accounting Programmes Retain SAICA Accreditation
International Relations Student Presents Research Findings in China
Humanities Academic Appointed Research Associate at CREST
Driving Research to New Heights with NRF Thuthuka Awards
Talented UKZN Alumnus set to Perform at Jazz Centre
UKZN Continues the Fight Against HIV and AIDS
First Year Medical Students Attend HIV and Me Course
Peer Educator Tells About Her Experiences at UKZN
11th Annual Higher Education Conference
UKZN Spotlight Winners
UKZN Freshers Competition - Win a Smartphone!
Normah Zondo
Bharat Ramkissoon


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text:
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"Gator Junior Debate Tournament"
Florida Flambeau, October 23, 1970, p7.
Image: Florida State University Libraries, 1970
"Debate Team Places Fifth"
Florida Flambeau, October 28, 1970, p 5.
"FSU debaters win"
Florida Flambeau, January 21, 1971, p 3.
"Rounds begin today"
Florida Flambeau, February 12, 1971, p 8.
"Miami dominates debate tournament"
"Debate team brings home best trophy"
University of Texas El Paso Tournament: Pat Dague & Jay Terlouw, First Place Team. Connecticut Tournament: Jay Terlouw & Joel Vaughn, Third Place Team.
Florida Flambeau, April 12, 1971, p 8.
"FSU Debate Team to discuss privacy right"
Florida Flambeau, September 24, 1971, p. 20.
"FSU debate team places in Stetson competition"
Stetson University Tournament: Affirmative: Kirk Miller '75 & Mike Cooper '75, Third Place Affirmative Team. Negative: Don Weiner '75 & Diane Marger '75, Fourth Place Negative Team.
Florida Flambeau, October 15, 1971, p. 3.
"A Victorious Debate Team Goes Wild"
Valdosta State Debate Tournament: Affirmative: Wiener & Evans, First Place Novice Team, Negative: Cooper & Osborn 4-2, FSU: First Place Overall Novice Division, Terlouw & Farney 4-2 Varsity Team.
Florida Flambeau, November 4, 1971, p. 3.
"FSU places second in Debate Championship"
Jay Terlouw & Diane Marger, and Don Weiner & David Norrell at FSU Tournament.
Florida Flambeau, January 28, 1972, p. 3.
"Debate team takes places in tournament"
Diane Marger & Don Weiner, and Mike Cooper & David Norrell, Southeastern Tournament Mississippi State College for Women. Cooper & Norrell, Enterprise Tournament.
Florida Flambeau, March 28, 1972, p. 9.
"Novice debaters near finals"
Mike Cooper & David Norrell at the National Novice Championship Tournament, Louisville, Kentucky. Two of top sixteen novice teams in country. Florida State Debate ranks 7th in the nation.
Florida Flambeau, April 12, 1972, p. 16.
"Debaters prepare."
Florida Flambeau, July 26, 1972, p. 6.
Florida Flambeau, October 18, 1972
Florida Flambeau, October 3, 1972
"FSU grad student to debate in USSR"
Loretta Malandro PhD.
"FSU debate team wins top honors"
Florida Flambeau, January 3, 1973, p. 8A.
"Forensics team sails to victory"
FIFA State Championship Tournament: Don Wiener & Mike Cooper: First Place State Champions, Wiener, 3rd Speaker, Cooper 4th Speaker; David Norrell & John Lee: Varsity Semifinals; Dorcas Hewes & Steve Grund: JV Semifinals; Florida State Debate: 3rd Place Sweepstakes. Stetson University Tournament: Cooper & Wiener: First Place Negative Team, Wiener 1st Place Speaker. University of Montevallo Tournament: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 5th Place Teams; 1st, 2nd, 4th Place Speakers. Madison College Tournament: Cooper & Hewes, 2nd Place Team, 4th & 8th Place Speakers. Samford University Tournament: Wiener & Cooper and Norrell & Lee advanced to elimination rounds. DSR-TKA: Cooper & Wiener Quarterfinalists. Gulf Coast Tournament: 1st Place Sweepstakes, 1st Place Affirmative, 1st Place Negative, and David Norrell 1st Speaker. West Georgia College and William and Mary Tournaments: FSU in elimination rounds. USF Gasparilla Tournament: Norrell & Wiener Semifinalists. Azalea Spring Hill College Tournament: Wiener & Terlouw Quarterfinalists. Exhibition Debate Tour, Florida and South Georgia High Schools.
Florida Flambeau, March 7, 1973, p. 7.
"Debate team sweeps clean"
Don Weiner & Mike Cooper, 1st Place Team FIFA State Championship Tournament
"State champs last year New season for debators"
Resolved: That the Federal Government Should Control the Supply and Utilization of Energy in the United States."
Florida Flambeau, September 27, 1973, p. 8.
"Debators travel to Emory"
UNC Tournament: Mike Cooper & David Norrell advanced to elimination rounds. Valdosta State Tournament: Mike Cooper, First Place Speaker, Mike Olivella Fifth Place Speaker, and Marianne Suttora & Al Sarver Ninth Place Team.
"Exciting News Flash! Symposium On ENERGY"
FSU Debate Team Debate "Energy Trash: Critical Energy and Recycling" on April 3rd, 1974.
Florida Flambeau, March 27, 1974, p. 10.
"Enlightening Symposium On ENERGY to Materialize This Week"
April 3rd, 1974 Florida State Debate Team Debate on the topic "Energy Trash: Critical Energy and Recycling."
Florida Flambeau, April 1, 1974, p. 6.
"Energy Crisis Symposium Set"
Florida State Debate Team Public Debate on April 3rd, 1974 at noon in Moore Auditorium. Topic: "Energy Trash!: Critical Energy and Recycling."
"Green card? What green card?"
"News You Can Use"
"Soviet Delegation To Debate FSU Team"
Florida State Jay Terlouw & Mike Cooper debate Russians on the topic "Youth in Contemporary Society." Dr. Theodore Clevenger presiding. Soviet Representatives Leonid A. Aslanov and Anatoly V. Busygin, of Moscow State University, and Mikhal Y. Bogdanor, of Leningrad State University. April 25th, 1974 at 8:00 PM, Ruby Diamond Auditorium.
Florida Flambeau, April 24, 1974, p. 8.
"Russian debaters here"
"Youth in Contemporary Society: How can they best participate in the state, in the socio-ecoomic development of teir country and the development of international relations?" April 25th, 1974, 8:00 PM, Ruby Diamond Auditorium
Campus Briefly
"FSU Debate Team to Compete at Nationals"
Florida Flambeau, April 9, 1975, p 3.
(Image: Florida State University Libraries, 1975)
"Debate Team"
Florida Flambeau, May 19, 1975, p 6.
"Debate held tonight"
British Debate
Florida Flambeau, November 18, 1975, p. 3.
"Debate Team Wins"
"Oxford debaters spar, joke with FSU team"
Florida Flambeau, December 25, 1975, p. 6.
"Debate Squad"
Image: Florida State University Libraries
Scottish Debate Announcement
Meeting Announcement
"Debate team captures victories"
Florida Flambeau, November 13, 1978
New Zealand Debate
Florida Flambeau, March 29, 1979
"FSU JV Debate Team"


SALINAS — It's been a little more than 20 years since David Drew was released from prison after serving several terms for sale and possession of drugs.
The 55-year old Salinas native and business owner was issued a pardon Monday by Gov. Jerry Brown for the drug-related convictions.
Drew, who was convicted of eight felonies for marijuana and cocaine in the 1980s and 1990s, was released from prison in 1997. Since then, he's gone on to start two successful companies: Drew-Massa Transportation and David Drew Productions, the entertainment company which has helped bring big-name artists like Blake Shelton and Kid Rock to Salinas.
Drew said he was sitting in his office when a phone call came in from a Sacramento area code. He wasn't going to answer it thinking it was a telemarketer, but something inside made him answer the phone. It was a staff member from the governor's office notifying him that Brown had just executed his pardon.
Drew said he's more than satisfied with Brown issuing the pardon but believes most people who seek one do it for validation.
"The hard work and the change that you made in your life, I think the validation is more important than anything," Drew said.
After he was released from prison in 1997, Drew finished his parole probation period three years later. It took 10 years for him to even be considered for a shot at a Certificate of Rehabilitation, which is an official document that allows him to seek a pardon from the state.
In December 2010, Monterey County Superior Court Judge Kay Kingsley granted Drew a Certificate of Rehabilitation.
David Ragent, who is the risk manager at Drew-Massa Transportation, has worked with Drew for the past six years. In 2014, Ragent said he noticed Drew's request for a pardon was sitting fallow for quite some time and was wondering what the holdup was.
Ragent wrote a letter to the California Board of Parole Hearings and it responded by saying several documents were missing from Drew's application.
Ragent said he claimed the documents were indeed turned in and he was correct. But, the whole mix-up delayed the process for about three years.
"In the meantime, employment changes and people in that office go to other places, so we had to keep monitoring to move it along," Ragent said.
Plus, Drew's case was a little unusual because the board is not known to pardon people for multiple convictions, which he had in 1987 and again in 1991.
"With that, it adds a whole different layer to the pardon process," Drew said.
Ragent said the request had to go through a separate process, which was going through the California Supreme Court and the California Board of Parole Hearings several times.
"Finally, through persistence and being as polite as possible with bureaucracies and monitoring as it went, it worked," Ragent said.
That whole process took three years, but then Drew had to wait another six months after receiving news in June that his request for pardon was being reviewed by Brown and the state Supreme Court.
Ragent said there were times when they got discouraged because it looked like the Board of Parole Hearings was truly stuck. However, he said they kept patient and pestered the board, as politely as possible, on why it was taking so long.
"At that point, we were just sitting on pins and needles because we don't know whether or not they're going to act on it or they're not going to act on it," Drew said.
But, Brown continued his Christmas tradition of dispensing second chances to convicted felons, issuing 143 pardons and 131 commutations Monday.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported the outgoing governor has now granted 1,332 pardons and 283 commutations during the past eight years, which is the most of any governor in modern state history.


text:
A Working Meeting of European Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc and Representatives of the Ministry of the Interior and the Police of the Republic of Slovenia	23 July 2018
Youngsters should be aware that violence is unacceptable	25 November 2013
Theft at motorway rest areas - take good care of your belongings!	26 July 2013
Police officers join in efforts for a night without accidents	17 October 2011
Using a police helicopter to get quick and safe emergency medical care - information from the demonstration exercise	5 August 2011
Fourteen years since tragic accident below Turska gora	10 June 2011
Police endeavour for the improved safety of the blind and visually impaired	10 June 2011
Watch your step on the mountain!	3 June 2011
Safety on ski slopes is in the first place the responsibility of every individual, therefore respect the 10 FIS rules of conduct	16 January 2010
Panel of experts on prevention of violence against women	4 December 2009
Helpful Advice to all Hikers, Trekkers and Mountaineers	6 November 2009
Hiking Info	6 November 2009
Reading the mountain	6 November 2009
Safe mountaineering	3 November 2009
For foreign tourists	20 October 2009
It is now twelve years since the tragic accident under Turška gora mountain	11 June 2009
Intensified control of the use of seat belts - Operation Fasten Your Life	6 February 2009
Recommendations on preventative measures during the Christmas-New Year holidays	23 December 2008
Dangerous influence of alcohol on driving, and policing during the holidays	19 December 2008
Police Work in Mountains
Mountaineering and trekking as a means of recreation have become very popular, so the low and high mountain range see more and more visitors each year. However, this also brings accidents requiring hard and demanding rescues. In order to reduce the accidents to the minimum, the police officers of the Special Police Unit - Mountain Unit (SPU - MU) have carried out their annual preventive activities in the mountains.
On Saturday, 12 July 2008, they advised the visitors to the mountains in the area of Kamnik-Savinja Alps, Julian Alps, Raduha and Peca; precisely, on the following mountain trails and paths:
Gozd Martuljek - Rutarški vršič - Beli potok - Gozd Martuljek
Vršič - Mojstrovka - Vršič
Kamniška Bistrica - Kamniško sedlo - Kamniška Bistrica
Mangartsko sedlo - Mangart - Mangartsko sedlo
Podvolovljek - Molička peč - Ojstrica - Podvolovljek
Robert Kralj, Assistant commander of the SPE at the General Police Administration for the mountain unit, presented at today's press conference both the findings from the Saturday preventive action as well as this year's experience in the treatment of mountain accidents.
Robert Kralj and Leon Keder, public relations officer of the Police for the field of crime
Findings of police officers from the latest action:
80 mountaineers climbed Mangart regardless of a bad weather forecast (rain), four of them in inappropriate footwear.
Weather was more stable in the Peca area. About 70 mountaineers climbed to the top, seven of them wearing inappropriate footwear. A violation of the Protection of Animals Act was observed, too, for a dog owner did not keep his dog on a lead in a public place.
The area of Kamniško sedlo with Planjava mountain saw less visitors on that day; police officers warned five mountaineers about inappropriate equipment.
In the area of Ojstrica the police officers established that paths were well-marked and exposed parts well-protected. Mountaineers were mostly well-equipped, except three wearing sport shoes on an exposed crest and two without protective helmets.
In the area of Triglav the police officers spotted three trekkers in low shoes and advised two such persons attempting to climb Triglav to refrain from it. Furthermore, they warned the mountaineers about the closed mountain path leading from Vodnikov dom hut under Tošc to Rudno polje in Pokljuka.
In the area of Rutarški vršič and Martuljek waterfalls, several tourists coming to see the waterfall in summer footwear, such as sandals and flip-flops, were warned. Not only such footwear has no appropriate soles but provides no foot support. That day the area of Martuljek waterfalls saw a fatal accident due to inappropriate footwear.
Robert Kralj
The aim of the activity is to raise people's awareness on the dangers in mountains and to provide advice for safe movement and spending free time in the mountains. The wish of the police is especially to warn trekkers, mountaineers and other visitors about appropriate footwear and clothes, and about the extreme importance of signing the book of mountain visitors and checking the weather forecast (heat storms).
The next major police preventive action in the mountains is scheduled for 23 August.
Preventive advice should not be superfluous to anybody, for we are all vulnerable for the mistakes which may cost us our lives in the mountains. The fact is that we live in the times of rush, which applies to mountaineering too, and take too little time to prepare ourselves for safe mountaineering. Unfortunately, mountaineering is not tackled with the necessary precision and consideration. We must know that there is no such thing as cruel mountains, but there are more or less dangerous mountains which will quickly surprise especially those not sufficiently prepared to encounter them.
Mountaineering does not know the concept of absolute safety; however, the observance of the most important mountaineering rules may considerably reduce the accident risks.
In monitoring mountain accidents and finding the reasons of their occurrence the officers of the police mountain unit establish that many visitors to the mountains do not have a proper regard for their own safety, which reflects especially in the lack of necessary knowledge and the wish to obtain it in the first place. Some mountaineers also lack the critical attitude towards their own knowledge and capacities to reach the mountain aim and safely return to the base.
We furthermore establish that the average personal and technical level of equipment of mountaineers is increasing, which means that mountaineers bought the necessary equipment, collected data on their aim, but forgot about the appropriate skills and physical and mental preparations. In other words: many reasons for the accidents lie in the fact that trekkers underestimated the selected aim or overestimated themselves.
Some examples of inappropriate equipment:
Last year, the most common causes of the total of 348 mountain accidents were still falling (133), sliding (91) and ignorance of the ground (69). 2007 was marked by an infamous record, for as many as 43 people lost their lives in Slovenian mountains.
This year, until mid-July, Slovenian mountains saw 108 interventions: 99 rescues and 9 searches for missing persons. 36 people were severely injured and 11 lost their lives. Rescues involved a helicopter in 46 cases.
By advice and warnings, the Police tries to reduce the number of accidents and mitigate their consequences.
On the basis of all these statistical indicators and other findings, police officers on mountain paths annually warn mountain visitors about dangers, advise them how to act when encountering problems, or what they should know before start, and provide additional advice for safe movement and stay in the mountains.
Of course, officers of the mountain police unit pay close attention also to violations from the field of environment protection (prohibited driving of vehicles in natural environment, illegal camping...), Triglav National Park Act, and, in mountain huts, to the situation regarding public policy (Act Restricting the Use of Alcohol, Residence Registration Act...).
The findings from the Saturday action do not differ much from the general findings listed above.
Our expert knowledge, will and analytical approach will continue in the future, for we are sure that these forms of police work can prevent many an accident or at least mitigate its consequences. The health and life of the target group are invaluable, so preventive work is but one of the possibilities to demonstrate our mission to citizens in the field of safety.
At the same time we inform the general public that the organised standby of the rescue team for helicopter rescue in the mountains is already under way (on Saturdays and Sunday in June, on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays in July, August and September, as well as on Thursdays in August). The standby team includes the police officers of the mountain unit present in the air police unit also on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays due to the increased number of mountain accidents.
prevention activities
Police Mountain Unit


text:
Ashby high-rise battle remains at a stalemate
City officials abandon neighborhood ordinanceAshby high-rise battle at standstill
Mike Snyder, Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle
July 28, 2008 Updated: Aug. 8, 2011 7:20 p.m.
Signs protesting the Ashby high-rise adorn a neighborhood near the proposed construction site. Five times, the city has rejected developers seeking approval of permits for the high-rise.
ERIC KAYNE/CHRONICLE
A year has passed since two developers sought permits for a 23-story building near Rice University, igniting a debate that many saw as a rare opportunity for new ideas about how Houston should grow.
As the Ashby high-rise controversy enters its second year, however, city officials have abandoned their efforts to craft an ordinance that would ease the impact of dense developments on established neighborhoods nearby.
The battle over the Ashby project itself is a stalemate.
Developer Kevin Kirton said he and partner Matthew Morgan would continue to seek approval of permits that the city has rejected five times on the basis of traffic concerns. Throughout the surrounding neighborhoods, meanwhile, "Stop Ashby High Rise" signs still adorn many front lawns.
"We remain very vigilant," said Chris Amandes, a leader of the Stop Ashby High Rise task force.
Last fall, neighborhood leaders and some public officials expressed hope that new policies would emerge from the highly publicized protests against the project. Mayor Bill White said the Ashby proposal had exposed a loophole in the city's regulations.
Last week, however, the official who has been the public face of White's administration during the controversy recommended that the city stop its work on a high-density development ordinance.
Instead, the city should continue to rely on a 60-year-old law governing where driveways connect to public streets, with additional guidelines on how the city will apply the measure to ensure that projects do not cause severe traffic congestion, said Andy Icken, a deputy public works director.
Zoning concerns
An advisory committee of developers, neighborhood leaders and experts had spent hundreds of hours trying to devise regulations that would apply only to large, dense projects near single-family residential neighborhoods.
Such an ordinance "would give people a warm feeling that this is the way the city does things," Icken told a City Council committee on Monday. "The disadvantage is ... as we explicitly define these development standards, we often find ourselves skirting the Z-word."
Fear that a new ordinance might resemble zoning is a poor reason for the city to throw up its hands on such a vital public issue, neighborhood leaders said.
"This do-nothing approach that the city is taking will not protect existing residential neighborhoods," said Jane Cahill, a neighborhood activist who served on the advisory committee that worked on the ordinance. "All parcels of land are not appropriate for all types of development."
Another advisory panel member, shopping center owner Kendall Miller, said the administration made the correct decision. A new regulatory ordinance, he said, could put Houston at a competitive disadvantage during difficult economic times.
"By avoiding the mistakes made in city after city across the nation, Houston will continue to be celebrated by observers everywhere as the city that got it right," said Miller, the president of Houstonians for Responsible Growth, a nonproft group that created a political action committee in the midst of the Ashby controversy to try to block additional regulations.
One disadvantage of the approach the city is taking, Icken said, is that it gives public works officials considerable discretion in determining which projects do not pass muster. Miller acknowledged that is a concern, but said it still is preferable to "new, heavy land-use regulation."
Could end in court
Councilwoman Anne Clutterbuck , whose district includes the Ashby site, said the decision to rely on existing laws rather than create a new one could strengthen the city's legal position if the project leads to litigation. The developers might have argued that a new law singled their project out, she said.
In a broader sense, Clutterbuck said, the months of meetings show how difficult it is to regulate land use in a city without zoning.
Efforts to develop more comprehensive development policies probably will fall to the next mayoral administration, she said.
White, who is in his third term, cannot run again because of term limits.
Leslie Miller, who lives near the Ashby project site at 1717 Bissonnet and has been active in the campaign against the high-rise, said she and her neighbors still want to help devise solutions that will benefit all Houston neighborhoods struggling with the impacts of new development.
"There are a lot of us across the city who are going to see this as a big issue in the next election," said Miller, who is not related to Kendall Miller.
She and Amandes said the passage of time and lack of movement on the project have not diminished the neighborhoods' determination to stop it. A Web site devoted to the issue is updated regularly, and includes a link that neighbors can use to check online for the status of the permit application, which last was returned to the developers June 25.
mike.snyder@chron.com
Reach Mike on
Mike Snyder has been a Houston Chronicle journalist since January 1979, with alternating stints as a reporter and editor. His reporting assignments have included city government, transportation, housing and growth and development issues. Prior to joining the Chronicle he worked as a reporter for the Conroe Courier and the Galveston Daily News. He is a native of Corpus Christi and a graduate of the University of Houston.