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1 Kings 1 Kings 3
The anointing of Solomon as king, which was effected by David's command (1 Kings 1), is only briefly mentioned in 1 Chronicles 23:1 in the words, "When David was old and full of days, he made his son Solomon king over Israel;" which serve as an introduction to the account of the arrangements made by David during the closing days of his life. After these arrangements have been described, there follow in 1 Chron 28 and 29 his last instructions and his death. The aged king gathered together the tribe-princes and the rest of the dignitaries and superior officers to a diet at Jerusalem, and having introduced Solomon to them as the successor chosen by God, exhorted them to keep the commandments of God, and urged upon Solomon and the whole assembly the building of the temple, gave his son the model of the temple and all the materials which he had collected towards its erection, called upon the great men of the kingdom to contribute to this work, which they willingly agreed to, and closed this last act of his reign with praise and thanksgiving to God and a great sacrificial festival, at which the assembled states of the realm made Solomon king a second time, and anointed him prince in the presence of Jehovah ( 1 Chronicles 29:22). - A repetition of the anointing of the new king at the instigation of the states of the realm, accompanied by their solemn homage, had also taken place in the case of both Saul (2 Sam 11) and David (2 Samuel 2:4 and 2 Samuel 5:3), and appears to have been an essential requirement to secure the general recognition of the king on the part of the nation, at any rate in those cases in which the succession to the throne was not undisputed. In order, therefore, to preclude any rebellion after his death, David summoned this national assembly again after Solomon's first anointing and ascent of the throne, that the representatives of the whole nation might pay the requisite homage to king Solomon, who had been installed as his successor according to the will of God. - To this national assembly, which is only reported in the Chronicles, there are appended the last instructions which David gave, according to 1 Chronicles 29:1-9 of our chapter, to his successor Solomon immediately before his death. Just as in the Chronicles, according to the peculiar plan of that work, there is no detailed description of the installation of David on the throne; so here the author of our books has omitted the account of this national diet, and the homage paid by the estates of the realm to the new king, as not being required by the purpose of his work, and has communicated the last personal admonitions and instructions of the dying king David instead.
(Note: To refute the assertion of De Wette, Gramberg, and Thenius, that this account of the Chronicles arises from a free mode of dealing with the history, and an intention to suppress everything that did not contribute to the honour of David and his house, - an assertion which can only be attributed to their completely overlooking, not to say studiously ignoring, the different plans of the two works (the books of Kings on the one hand, and those of Chronicles on the other), - it will be sufficient to quote the unprejudiced and thoughtful decision of Bertheau, who says, in his Comm. on 1 Chronicles 23:1 : " These few words (1 Chronicles 23:1) give in a condensed form the substance of the account in 1 Kings 1, which is intimately bound up with the account of the family affairs of David in the books of Samuel and Kings, and therefore, according to the whole plan of our historical work, would have been out of place in the Chronicles. " )
1 Kings 2:1-3
David's Last Instructions and Death. - 1 Kings 2:1-4. When David saw that his life was drawing to a close, he first of all admonished his son Solomon to be valiant in the observance of the commandments of God. "I go the way of all the world" (as in Joshua 23:14), i.e., the way of death; "be strong and be a man," - not "bear my departure bravely," as Thenius supposes, but prove thyself brave (cf. 1 Samuel 4:9) to keep the commandments of the Lord. Just as in 1 Samuel 4:9 the object in which the bravery is to show itself is appended simply by the copula Vâv ; so is it here also with וגו ושׁמרתּ . The phrase יי את־משׁמרת שׁמר , to keep the keeping of Jehovah, which so frequently occurs in the Thorah , i.e., to observe or obey whatever is to be observed in relation to Jehovah (cf. Genesis 26:5; Leviticus 8:35; Leviticus 18:30, etc.), always receives its more precise definition from the context, and is used here, as in Genesis 26:5, to denote obedience to the law of God in all its extent, or, according to the first definition, to walk in the ways of Jehovah. This is afterwards more fully expanded in the expression וגו חקּתין לשׁמר , to keep the ordinances, commandments, rights, and testimonies of Jehovah. These four words were applied to the different precepts of the law, the first three of which are connected together in Genesis 26:5; Deuteronomy 5:28; Deuteronomy 8:11, and served to individualize the rich and manifold substance of the demands of the Lord to His people as laid down in the Thorah . תּשׂכּיל למען , that thou mayest act wisely and execute well, as in Deuteronomy 29:8; Joshua 1:7.
Solomon would then experience still further this blessing of walking in the ways of the Lord, since the Lord would fulfil to him His promise of the everlasting possession of the throne. וגו יקים למען is grammatically subordinate to תּשׂכּיל למען in 1 Kings 2:3. The word which Jehovah has spoken concerning David ( עלי דּבּר ) is the promise in 2 Samuel 7:12., the substance of which is quoted here by David with a negative turn, וגו יכּרת לא , and with express allusion to the condition on which God would assuredly fulfil His promise, viz., if the descendants of David preserve their ways, to walk before the Lord in truth. בּאמת is more precisely defined by נפשׁם ... בּכל . For the fact itself see Deuteronomy 5:5; Deuteronomy 11:13, Deuteronomy 11:18. The formula וגו יכּרת לא is formed after 1 Samuel 2:33 (compare also 2 Samuel 3:29 and Joshua 9:23). "There shall not be cut off to thee a man from upon the throne of Israel," i.e., there shall never be wanting to thee a descendant to take the throne; in other words, the sovereignty shall always remain in thy family. This promise, which reads thus in 2 Samuel 7:16, "Thy house and thy kingdom shall be continual for ever before thee, and thy throne stand fast for ever," and which was confirmed to Solomon by the Lord Himself after his prayer at the consecration of the temple (1 Kings 8:25; 1 Kings 9:5), is not to be understood as implying that no king of the Davidic house would be thrust away from the throne, but simply affirms that the posterity of David was not to be cut off, so as to leave no offshoot which could take possession of the throne. Its ultimate fulfilment it received in Christ (see at 2 Samuel 7:12.). The second לאמר in 2 Samuel 7:4 is not to be erased as suspicious, as being merely a repetition of the first in consequence of the long conditional clause, even though it is wanting in the Vulgate, the Arabic, and a Hebrew codex.
After a general admonition David communicated to his successor a few more special instructions; viz., first of all (2 Samuel 7:5, 2 Samuel 7:6), to punish Joab for his wickedness. "What Joab did to me:" - of this David mentions only the two principal crimes of Joab, by which he had already twice deserved death, namely, his killing the two generals. Abner (2 Samuel 3:27) and Amasa the son of Jether (2 Samuel 20:10). The name יתר is written יתרא in 2 Samuel 17:25. Joab had murdered both of them out of jealousy in a treacherous and malicious manner; and thereby he had not only grievously displeased David and bidden defiance to his royal authority, but by the murder of Abner had exposed the king to the suspicion in the eyes of the people of having instigated the crime (see at 2 Samuel 3:28, 2 Samuel 3:37). דּמי מ ויּשׂם "and he made war-blood in peace," i.e., he shed in the time of peace blood that ought only to flow in war ( שׂים in the sense of making, as in Deuteronomy 14:1; Exodus 10:2, etc.), "and brought war-blood upon his girdle which was about his loins, and upon his shoes under his feet," sc. in the time of peace. This was the crime therefore: that Joab had murdered the two generals in a time of peace, as one ought only to slay his opponent in time of war. Girdle and shoes , the principal features in oriental attire when a man is preparing himself for any business, were covered with blood, since Joab, while saluting them, had treacherously stabbed both of them with the sword. David ought to have punished these two crimes; but when Abner was murdered, he felt himself too weak to visit a man like Joab with the punishment he deserved, as he had only just been anointed king, and consequently he did nothing more than invoke divine retribution upon his head (2 Samuel 3:29). And when Amasa was slain, the rebellions of Absalom and Sheba had crippled the power of David too much, for him to visit the deed with the punishment that was due. But as king of the nation of God, it was not right for him to allow such crimes to pass unpunished: he therefore transferred the punishment, for which he had wanted the requisite power, to his son and successor.
1 Kings 2:6
"Do according to thy wisdom ("mark the proper opportunity of punishing him" - Seb. Schmidt), and let not his grey hair go down into hell (the region of the dead) in peace (i.e., punished)." The punishment of so powerful a man as Joab the commander-in-chief was, required great wisdom, to avoid occasioning a rebellion in the army, which was devoted to him.
If the demands of justice required that Joab should be punished, the duty of gratitude was no less holy to the dying king. And Solomon was to show this to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and make them companions of his table; because Barzillai had supplied David with provisions on his flight from Absalom (2 Samuel 17:27., 2 Samuel 19:32.). שׁלחנך בּאכלי והיוּ , "let them be among those eating of thy table;" i.e., not, "let them draw their food from the royal table," - for there was no particular distinction in this, as all the royal attendants at the court received their food from the royal kitchen, as an equivalent for the pay that was owing - but, "let them join in the meals at the royal table." The fact that in 2 Samuel 9:10-11, 2 Samuel 9:13, we have על־שׁלחן אכל to express this, makes no material difference. According to 2 Samuel 19:38, Barzillai had, it is true, allowed only one son to follow the king to his court. "For so they drew near to me," i.e., they showed the kindness to me of supplying me with food; compare 2 Samuel 17:27, where Barzillai alone is named, though, as he was a man of eighty years old, he was certainly supported by his sons.
On the other hand, Shimei the Benjamite had shown great hostility to David (cf. 2 Samuel 16:5-8). He had cursed him with a vehement curse as he fled from Absalom ( נמרצת , vehement, violent, not ill, heillos , from the primary meaning to be sick or ill, as Thenius supposes, since it cannot be shown that מרץ has any such meaning); and when David returned to Jerusalem and Shimei fell at his feet, he had promised to spare his life, because he did not want to mar the joy at his reinstatement in his kingdom by an act of punishment (2 Samuel 19:19-24), and therefore had personally forgiven him. But the insult which Shimei had offered in his person to the anointed of the Lord, as king and representative of the rights of God, he could not forgive. The instruction given to his successor ( אל־תּנקּהוּ , let him not be guiltless) did not spring from personal revenge, but was the duty of the king as judge and administrator of the divine right.
(Note: " Shimei is and remains rather a proof of David ' s magnanimity than of vengeance. It was not a little thing to tolerate the miscreant in his immediate neighbourhood for his whole life long (not even banishment being thought of). And if under the following reign also he had been allowed to end his days in peace (which had never been promised him), this would have been a kindness which would have furnished an example of unpunished crimes that might easily have been abused. " This is the verdict of J. J. Hess in his Geschichte Davids , ii. p. 221.)
It follows from the expression עמּך , with thee, i.e., in thy neighbourhood, that Shimei was living at that time in Jerusalem (cf. 1 Kings 2:36).
1 Kings 2:10-11
After these instructions David died, and was buried in the city of David, i.e., upon Mount Zion, where the sepulchre of David still existed in the time of Christ (Acts 2:29).
(Note: The situation of the tombs of the kings of Judah upon Zion, Thenius has attempted to trace minutely in a separate article in Illgen ' s Zeitschrift für die histor . Theol . 1844, i. p. 1ff., and more especially to show that the entrance to these tombs must have been on the eastern slope of Mount Zion, which falls into the valley of Tyropoeon , and obliquely opposite to the spring of Siloah. This is in harmony with the statement of Theodoret ( quaest . 6 in iii. Reg.), to the effect that Josephus says, τὸ δὲ μνῆμα ( τῆς ταφῆς ) παρὰ τὴν Σιλοὰμ εἶναι ἀντροειδὲς ἔχον τὸ σχῆμα, καὶ τῆν βασιλικὴν δηλοῦν πολυτέλειαν; although this statement does not occur in any passage of his works as they have come down to us.)
On the length of his reign see 2 Samuel 5:5.
Verses 12-46
Accession of Solomon and Establishment of his Government. - 1 Kings 2:12 is a heading embracing the substance of what follows, and is more fully expanded in 1 Chronicles 29:23-25. Solomon established his monarchy first of all by punishing the rebels, Adonijah (1 Chronicles 29:13-25) and his adherents (1 Chronicles 29:26 -35), and by carrying out the final instructions of his father (vv. 36-46).
Adonijah forfeits his life . - 1 Kings 2:13-18. Adonijah came to Bathsheba with the request that she would apply to king Solomon to give him Abishag of Shunem as his wife. Bathsheba asked him, "Is peace thy coming?" i.e., comest thou with a peaceable intention? (as in 1 Samuel 16:4), because after what had occurred (1 Kings 1:5.) she suspected an evil intention. He introduced his petition with these words: "Thou knowest that the kingdom was mine, and all Israel had set its face upon me that I should be king, then the kingdom turned about and became my brother's; for it became his from the Lord." The throne was his, not because he had usurped it, but because it belonged to him as the eldest son at that time, according to the right of primogeniture. Moreover it might have been the case that many of the people wished him to be king, and the fact that he had found adherents in Joab, Abiathar, and others, confirms this; but his assertion, that all Israel had set its eyes upon him as the future king, went beyond the bounds of truth. At the same time, he knew how to cover over the dangerous sentiment implied in his words in a very skilful manner by adding the further remark, that the transfer of the kingdom to his brother had come from Jehovah; so that Bathsheba did not detect the artifice, and promised to fulfil his request (1 Kings 2:16.) to intercede with king Solomon for Abishag to be given him to wife. את־פּני אל־תּשׁבי , "do not turn back my face," i.e., do not refuse my request.
When Bathsheba came to Solomon, he received her with the reverence due to the queen-mother: " he rose up to meet her " (a pregnant expression for "he rose up and went to meet her"), made a low bow, then sat upon his throne again, and bade her sit upon a throne at his right hand. The seat at the right hand of the king was the place of honour among the Israelites (cf. Psalms 110:1), also with the ancient Arabian kings (cf. Eichhorn, Monumenta Antiq . Hist . Arab . p. 220), as well as among the Greeks and Romans.
To her request, "Let Abishag of Shunem be given to Adonijah thy brother for a wife" ( את יתּן , cf. Ges. §§143, 1, a.), which she regarded in her womanly simplicity as a very small one ( קטנּה ), he replied with indignation, detecting at once the intrigues of Adonijah: "And why dost thou ask Abishag of Shunem for Adonijah? ask for him the kingdom, for he is my elder brother; and indeed for him, and for Abiathar the priest, and for Joab the son of Zeruiah." The repetition of לו in ולו (1 Kings 2:22), for the purpose of linking on another clause, answers entirely to the emotional character of the words. "For him, and for Abiathar and Joab:" Solomon said this, because these two men of high rank had supported Adonijah's rebellion and wished to rule under his name. There is no ground for any such alterations of the text as Thenius proposes. - Although Abishag had been only David's nurse, in the eyes of the people she passed as his concubine; and among the Israelites, just as with the ancient Persians (Herod. iii. 68), taking possession of the harem of a deceased king was equivalent to an establishment of the claim to the throne (see at 2 Samuel 12:8 and 2 Samuel 3:7-8). According to 2 Samuel 16:21, this cannot have been unknown even to Bathsheba; but as Adonijah's wily words had disarmed all suspicion, she may not have thought of this, or may perhaps have thought that Abishag was not to be reckoned as one of David's concubines, because David had not known her (1 Kings 1:4).
Solomon thereupon solemnly swore (the formula of an oath, and the כּי introducing the oath, as in 1 Samuel 14:44, etc.), "Adonijah has spoken this word against his own life." בּנפשׁו , at the cost of his life, as in 2 Samuel 23:17, i.e., at the hazard of his life, or to his destruction. 2 Samuel 23:24. "And now, as truly as Jehovah liveth, who hath established me and set me on the throne of my father David, and hath made me a house, as He said ( verbatim , 2 Samuel 7:11): yea, to-day shall Adonijah be put to death." Jehovah established Solomon, or founded him firmly, by raising him to the throne in spite of Adonijah's usurpation. In ויושׁיביני the central י has got into the text through a copyist's error. בּית לי עשׂה , i.e., He has bestowed upon me a family or posterity. Solomon had already one son, viz., Rehoboam, about a year old (compare 1 Kings 11:42 with 1 Kings 14:21 and 2 Chronicles 12:13).
(Note: When Thenius denies this, and maintains that Rehoboam cannot have been 41 years old when he began to reign, referring to his discussion at 1 Kings 14:21, he answers himself, inasmuch as at 1 Kings 14:21 he demonstrates the fallacy of the objections which Cappellus has raised against the correctness of the reading " 41 years. " )
Solomon had this sentence immediately executed upon Adonijah by Benaiah, the chief of the body-guard, according to the oriental custom of both ancient and modern times. The king was perfectly just in doing this. For since Adonijah, even after his first attempt to seize upon the throne had been forgiven by Solomon, endeavoured to secure his end by fresh machinations, duty to God, who had exalted Solomon to the throne, demanded that the rebel should be punished with all the severity of the law, without regard to blood-relationship.
Deposition of Abiathar . - The conduct of Solomon towards the high priest Abiathar is a proof how free his actions were from personal revenge or too great severity. Abiathar had also forfeited his life through the part he took in Adonijah's conspiracy; but Solomon simply sent him to Anathoth (i.e., Anata; see at Joshua 18:24), to his own fields, i.e., to his property there, telling him, "Thou art indeed a man of death," i.e., thou hast deserved to die, "but I will not put thee to death to-day, because thou hast borne the ark of Jehovah," namely, both on the occasion of its solemn conveyance to Jerusalem (1 Chronicles 15:11.) and also on David's flight from Absalom (2 Samuel 15:24, 2 Samuel 15:29), that is to say, because of his high-priestly dignity, and because thou didst endure all that my father endured, i.e., thou didst share all his afflictions and sufferings, both in the period of Saul's persecution (1 Samuel 22:20., 1 Samuel 23:8.), and during the rebellion of Absalom (2 Samuel 15:24.). ההוּא בּיּום (to-day) puts a limit upon the pardon, because Solomon could not foresee whether Abiathar would always keep quiet, and not forfeit his life again by fresh crimes.
(Note: There is no meaning in the objection of Thenius, that Abiathar did not carry the ark himself, since this was not the duty of the high priest. For, in the first place, it is questionable whether Abiathar did not lend a helping hand at the removal of the ark during Absalom ' s conspiracy. And, secondly, the duty binding upon the high priest, to superintend and conduct the removal of the ark, might very well be called carrying the ark. The conjecture, that for ארון we should read אפוד , founders on the preterite נשׂאת ; for Abiathar had not only worn the ephod once before, but he wore it till the very hour in which Solomon deposed him from his office.)
The banishment of Abiathar to his own private possession involved his deposition from the priesthood. And, as the historian adds, thus was the word of the Lord concerning the house of Eli fulfilled ( 1 Samuel 2:30-33). למלּא corresponds to the New Testament ἵνα πληρωθῇ . For further remarks on this prophecy and its fulfilment, see at 1 Samuel 2:30.
(Note: Nothing is related concerning the subsequent fate of Abiathar, since the death of a high priest who had been deprived of his office was a matter of no importance to the history of the kingdom of God. At any rate, he would not survive his deposition very long, as he was certainly eighty years old already ( see Comm. on Sam . p. 267). - The inference which Ewald ( Gesch . iii. pp. 269,270) draws from 1 Samuel 2:31-36 as to the manner of his death, namely, that he fell by the sword, is one of the numerous fictions founded upon naturalistic assumptions with which this scholar has ornamented the biblical history.)
Thus was the high-priesthood of the house of Eli extinguished, and henceforth this dignity passed through Zadok into the sole possession of the line of Eleazar.
Execution of Joab . - When the report (of the execution of Adonijah and the deposition of Abiathar) came to Joab, he fled to the tent of Jehovah (not to the tabernacle, but to the holy tent upon Zion) to seek protection at the altar (see at 1 Kings 1:50). The words נטה לא ... יואב כּי are introduced as a parenthesis to explain Joab's flight: "for Joab had leaned after Adonijah," i.e., taken his side ( אהרי נטה , as in Exodus 23:2; Judges 9:3), "but not after Absalom."
(Note: Instead of אבשׁלום the lxx (Cod. Vat.), Vulgate, Syr., and Arab. have adopted the reading שּׁלמה , and both Thenius and Ewald propose to alter the text accordingly. But whatever plausibility this reading may have, especially if we alter the preterite נטה into the participle נטה after the ἦν κεκλικώς of the lxx, as Thenius does, it has no other foundation than an arbitrary rendering of the lxx, who thought, but quite erroneously, that the allusion to Absalom was inapplicable here. For אחר נטה , to take a person ' s side, would suit very well in the case of Adonijah and Absalom, but not in that of Solomon, whose claim to the throne was not a party affair, but had been previously determined by God.)
There is no foundation in the biblical text for the conjecture, that Joab had given Adonijah the advice to ask for Abishag as his wife, just as Ahithophel had given similar advice to Absalom (2 Samuel 16:21). For not only is there no intimation of anything of the kind, but Solomon punished Joab solely because of his crimes in the case of Abner and Amasa. Moreover, Abiathar was also deposed, without having any fresh machinations in favour of Adonijah laid to his charge. The punishment of Adonijah and Abiathar was quite sufficient to warn Joab of his approaching fate, and lead him to seek to save his life by fleeing to the altar. It is true that, according to Exodus 21:13-14, the altar could afford no protection to a man who had committed two murders. But he probably thought no more of these crimes, which had been committed a long time before, but simply of his participation in Adonijah's usurpation; and he might very well hope that religious awe would keep Solomon from putting him to death in a holy place for such a crime as that. And it is very evident that this hope was not altogether a visionary one, from the fact that, according to Exodus 21:30, when Joab refused to leave the altar at the summons addressed to him in the name of the king, Benaiah did not give him the death-blow at once, but informed Solomon of the fact and received his further commands. Solomon, however, did not arrest the course of justice, but ordered him to be put to death there and afterwards buried. The burial of the persons executed was a matter of course, as, according to Deuteronomy 21:23, even a person who had been hanged was to be buried before sunset. When, therefore, Solomon gives special orders for the burial of Joab, the meaning is that Benaiah is to provide for the burial with distinct reference to the services which Joab had rendered to his father. "And take away the blood, which Joab shed without cause, from me and my father's house." So long as Joab remained unpunished for the double murder, the blood-guiltiness rested upon the king and his house, on whom the duty of punishment devolved (cf. Numbers 35:30-31; Deuteronomy 19:13). חנּם דּמי , blood without cause, i.e., blood shed in innocence. On the connection of the adverb with the substantive, at which Thenius takes offence, comp. Ges. §151, 1, and Ewald, §287, d. - For V. 32, compare Deuteronomy 21:5. The words of Solomon in v. 33a point back to the curse which David uttered upon Joab and his descendants after the murder of Abner ( 2 Samuel 3:28-29). "But to David, and his seed, and his house, and his throne, let there be salvation for ever from Jehovah." This wish sprang from a conviction, based upon 2 Samuel 7:14, that the Lord would not fulfil His promise to David unless his successors upon the throne exercised right and justice according to the command of the Lord.
Benaiah went up ( ויּעל ), inasmuch as the altar by the ark of the covenant stood higher up Mount Zion than Solomon's house. Joab was buried "in his house" (i.e., in the tomb prepared in his house, either in the court or in the garden: cf. 1 Samuel 25:1), "in the desert," probably the wilderness of Judah, as Joab's mother was a step-sister of David, and therefore probably dwelt in the neighbourhood of Bethlehem.
Solomon appointed Benaiah commander-in-chief in the place of Joab, and put Zadok in Abiathar's place (cf. 1 Kings 1:8-9).
Punishment of Shimei . - Solomon thereupon ordered Shimei to come, probably from Bahurim, where his home was (2 Samuel 16:5), and commanded him to build himself a house in Jerusalem to dwell in, and not to leave the city "any whither" ( ואנה אנה ), threatening him with death if ever he should cross the brook Kidron. The valley of Kidron is mentioned as the eastern boundary of the city with an allusion to the fact, that Bahurim was to the east of Jerusalem towards the desert.
Shimei vowed obedience, and that on oath, as is supplementarily observed in 1 Kings 2:42, though it has been arbitrarily interpolated by the lxx here; and he kept his word a considerable time.
But after the lapse of three years, when two slaves fled to Gath to king Achish, with whom David had also sought and found refuge (1 Samuel 27:2, compare 1 Kings 21:11.), he started for Gath as soon as he knew this, and fetched them back.
When this was reported to Solomon, he sent for Shimei and charged him with the breach of his command: "Did I not swear to thee by Jehovah, and testify to thee, etc.? Why hast thou not kept the oath of Jehovah (the oath sworn by Jehovah)...?"
He then reminded him of the evil which he had done to his father: "Thou knowest all the evil, which thy heart knoweth (i.e., which thy conscience must tell thee); and now Jehovah returns the evil upon thy head," namely, by decreeing the punishment of death, which he deserved for blaspheming the anointed of the Lord (2 Samuel 16:9).
"And king Solomon will be blessed, and the throne of David be established before Jehovah for ever," namely, because the king does justice (compare the remark on 1 Kings 2:33).
Solomon then ordered him to be executed by Benaiah. This punishment was also just. As Solomon had put Shimei's life in his own hand by imposing upon him confinement in Jerusalem, and Shimei had promised on oath to obey the king's command, the breach of his oath was a crime for which he had no excuse. There is no force at all in the excuses which some commentators adduce in his favour, founded upon the money which his salves had cost him, and the wish to recover possession of them, which was a right one in itself. If Shimei had wished to remain faithful to his oath, he might have informed the king of the flight of his slaves, have entreated the king that they might be brought back, and have awaited the king's decision; but he had no right thus lightly to break the promise given on oath. By the breach of his oath he had forfeited his life. And this is the first thing with which Solomon charges him, without his being able to offer any excuse; and it is not till afterwards that he adduces as a second fact in confirmation of the justice of his procedure, the wickedness that he practised towards his father. - The last clause, "and the kingdom was established by ( בּיד ) Solomon," is attached to the following chapter in the Cod. Al. of the lxx (in the Cod. Vat. it is wanting, or rather its place is supplied by a long interpolation), in the Vulgate, and in the Syriac; and indeed rightly so, as Thenius has shown, not merely because of the רק in 1 Kings 3:2, but also because of its form as a circumstantial clause, to which the following account (1 Kings 3:1.) is appended.
Keil, Carl Friedrich & Delitzsch, Franz. "Commentary on 1 Kings 2:4". http://odl.studylight.org/commentaries/kdo/1-kings-2.html. 1854-1889.


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Home » News » Three Critically Endangered orangutans are returned to...
Three Critically Endangered orangutans are returned to the rainforest
Three rescued orangutans have been released back into the rainforest of West Borneo by a team of conservationists. The release operation was carried out by our team in Indonesia, together with representatives from the local Forest Department (BKSDA Kalbar) and the Bukit Baka Bukit Raya National Park (BBBRNP.) The trio consisted of one wild male of more than 25 years old named Abun and two younger females. Our Human-Orangutan Conflict Response Team (HOCRT) had rescued Abun in August from a community garden in the hamlet of Kali Baru, Sungai Awan. He had been driven out of his home in Sungai Putri forest by land clearance operations and entered the community forest in search of food. After reports of several sightings of him in the garden, the team decided to remove the orangutan to prevent further damage to the plants and to protect him from angry local residents. Abun was caught and taken back to our orangutan centre in Ketapang where he remained in quarantine while preparations were made for the release operation.
The two orangutans released with Abun were named Pinoh and Laksmi. Pinoh is a female of 13 years old. She had been kept as a pet in Nanga but was later surrendered to the local BKSDA in May 2011. Pinoh was then handed over to our centre in Ketapang for rehabilitation.
Female orangutan Laksmi was abandoned in a cage by someone fleeing from the police. The police officers took Laksmi to their office and then she too was passed on to our centre. She was three years old when she was rescued.
Before reintroduction Pinoh and Laksmi had to undergo a period of rehabilitation in "forest school" at our rehabilitation centre where they learnt to climb, forage for food, make a nest to sleep in at night and develop all the other behaviours they need to survive in the wild. Once they had mastered those skills, they were moved to "data island" – a pre-release island where our team gathers data on the orangutans' behaviour to assess whether they are ready for release and equipped to fend for themselves back in the forest. "After a comprehensive rehabilitation process lasting six or seven years, we can ensure that orangutans like Laksmi and Pinoh are ready for reintroduction," said Karmele L Sanchez, Programme Director of International Animal Rescue in Indonesia.
"In the wild infant orangutans stay with their mothers until they are at least seven years old and our rehabilitated orangutans need a similar time to become independent. She added: "It requires considerable resources and funds to rehabilitate and reintroduce orangutans into the wild. Moreover, once they have been returned to the forest the orangutans are monitored for two years or more to ensure they are thriving. Our medical team had already confirmed that the three orangutans were free from disease and in peak condition for returning to their natural habitat.
"The orangutans are all in good condition and Pinoh and Laksmi are displaying all the required natural behaviours," said Dr Sulhi Aufa, IAR Indonesia's Medical Coordinator.
"We are confident they will be happy in their new home. "Abun is healthy and still has all his skills and wild behaviours to equip him for life in the forest. The release team set off from our rehabilitation centre in Ketapang on 10 September at 04.30 am. Of primary concern was to ensure that the orangutans weren't unduly stressed during the journey which involved travelling by road, boat and then on foot to the release site in the national park.
Twelve porters from a nearby village carried the transport crates which, with the orangutans inside, weighed between 100kg and 150kg. "We are very grateful to the local villagers for helping us carry the cages to the release site," said Karmele. "They have walked 9 kilometres up steep hillsides and across rivers carrying the very heavy cages. I don't know what we would do without them!"
After travelling for a total of 57 hours, the team reached the site where Abun was to be released. The moment the door of his crate was lifted, he immediately climbed the tallest tree he could find and started eating. "The most uplifting thing is to see an orangutan returning to his natural habitat," said Uray Iskandar from the BKSDA Kalbar. "The orangutan species is native to Indonesia and we must work to protect it and to protect its habitat."
The release team then walked for a further five hours to the release site for Pinoh and Laksmi. By the time the pair was released their journey had lasted nearly three days and darkness was falling .Our monitoring teams will follow and observe the orangutans from the moment they get out of their nests in the morning until they settle down to sleep in the early evening. The monitoring is important to ensure the health and safety of the animals post-release.
Since 2015 our teams have released 17 orangutans in the National Park, of which nine were orangutans that had undergone rehabilitation and eight were wild orangutans being translocated. Abun was the fifth wild orangutan to be released in the Park in 2017. Bukit Baka Bukit Raya National Park has been chosen as a release site after a survey we carried out showed that it still contains plenty of forest, including an abundance of fruit trees for the orangutans to feed on.
In the event that we are successful in achieving our target for a specific appeal or rescue project, any excess funds from your kind donation will be used by International Animal Rescue to help other animals in similar need.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
New Priory in Tokyo
Source: District of Asia
After 27 years of apostolate in Japan, the SSPX has finally opened a priory in Tokyo.
Since his priestly ordination in June 1993, Fr. Onoda has been constantly flying from the Philippines to Japan to exercise his apostolate in his own country.
The priory was scheduled to open last September, but with the pandemic...
The new priory - "Stella Matutina Priory" ("Our Lady, Morning Star") was opened on the First Saturday of the month (2nd January, 2021).
in_the_chapel_-_cropped.jpg
in_the_dining_room.jpg
Let us all ask the Most Blessed Virgin that She shower down graces from Her Immaculate Heart upon the Japanese people!
Please keep Fr. Thomas Onoda and Fr. Etienne Demornex in your prayers for a fruitful apostolate that the Land of the Rising Sun may convert to the Risen Son.
Appeal for the Victims of Odette Typhoon
What is the Solution to the Crisis?
Why do we no longer respond to God's call?
Christ The King of Civil Rulers
The Great Miracle
The Fallen Angel


text:
Robocon
RoboVoyage
amu roboclub
AMU Roboclub is a student's body which caters to the need of electronics enthusiasts and hobbyists in creating an environment which is driven by innovation and implementation. Run under the able guidance and supervision of faculty advisors from various branches of engineering, AMU Roboclub stands as an epitome of marvel. It not only acts as a platform for zealous students to hone their skills in the field of Electrical, Electronics, Computers and Mechanical but also prepares them for various national competitions by encouraging participation.
In the last couple of years, students from AMU Roboclub have won many awards in various competitions which speak of its testimony. Regular Classes, Annual Workshop, Guest Lectures, Project Exhibition, Student Competitions etc are some of the main functions of the club. Robonics, the annual workshop of AMU Roboclub has earned a name in itself. The highlights of the club which differentiates it from the peers are its adherence to the curriculum, its student-student interaction and importantly project developments. More than 80 ideas have culminated into working models so far and the number is on the rise. The strength of the club lies in its Student members, it is them who has given a high repute to the club. The members who complete at least one project under AMU Roboclub are felicitated and they earn for themselves a separate webpage in the AMU Roboclub website which is dedicated for their description and achievements. AMU Roboclub alumni always attribute a portion of their successes to the time and effort they spent at AMU Roboclub which helped them become what they are today.
Team - Coordinators
Aman Gupta
Harshul Gupta
Kakul Shrivastava
The Zakir Husain College of Engineering & Technology with its foundation stone being laid on 21st November 1938, stands today as an epitome in the field of engineering and technology, manifesting quality education to build intellectual competitiveness. ZHCET named after a great scholar of AMU and the former President of India, Dr. Zakir Husain, extends its arms for hundreds of students from across the country and abroad.
Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) occupies a unique position amongst universities and institutions of higher learning in the country. It was established in 1920, and evolved out of the Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental College (MAO College) which was set up in 1877 by the great visionary and social reformer, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan. Spread over 467.6 hectares in the city of Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, Aligarh Muslim University offers more than 300 courses in the traditional and modern branches of education. It ranks 5th among the top universities in India.
WS-18,
Mechanical Workshop Compound,
Zakir Husain College of Engg & Tech,
Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh.
Developers: Areeb Jamal | Haider Ali
©2019-20 — AMURoboclub


text:
Docking Like a Pro
Ryan Alder
There are a couple ways to come into the dock. The method new skippers gravitate towards at first, because it's easier, is to come in with plenty of speed and do a final turn up into the wind at the end to avoid banging into the dock. Or they don't even do the turn and just bang into the dock... I guess this would be a 3rd way, but highly undesirable.
The preferred method more properly utilizes slow sailing. Docking and COB are the main reasons we teach slow sailing. When you have a firm grasp on slow sailing, you will be able to come to a stop 1" from the dock as your crew casually steps off the bow.
Here are the steps for docking like a pro:
(Credit where credit is due, I've had this best explained to me by Robert O. Come work the keelboat dock during open house sometime and watch Robert dock a keelboat singlehanded to get an idea of the ideal you're shooting for.)
- When you're coming in to the docks watch the wind socks to get an idea of the wind direction at the dock, which may be different than it was when you were out sailing.
- Pick an exact spot on the dock. This is where you're going to try to end up. You don't have to tell anyone else the exact spot. If you don't hit it exactly, and are a foot off, no one else will be the wiser, it will still just look like a really good docking to them.
- Come in way downwind, right next to the second dock. You want to give yourself plenty of room to bleed off speed. At this point the mainsheet should be all the way out, and you are controlling it with the falls, which is quick and doesn't risk a jam.
- Turn up hard onto what you think your slow sailing course will be with the mainsheet all the way out. You want to aim for a Close Reach course, which is about 60º to the true wind. This is practically the only time you use the true wind instead of the apparent wind when sailing. The quick/hard turn is important and does two things: 1) It bleeds off some speed, and 2) it immediately lets you know if your angle is right, so if it's not you have plenty of room to adjust.
- De-power (let the main out). The dinghies coast further than you would think, and you don't need full speed between the docks, so bleed some speed early.
- Aim a little above your spot. Much like when doing COB, you want to aim a little high to account for side slippage. This holds true when docking too. And the slower you're going, the more you'll side slip, so you want to account for it.
- As you get closer, let your speed come down more and more. Towards the end you want to be doing quick, light pulls on the falls to get just a tiny bit of speed as needed. However, until you get to the dock, don't let your speed get to zero. If it does, there's no water flowing over the centerboard, and the next time you power up you'll be pushed sideways before you start moving forward.
- As you get to the last couple feet from the dock you should barely be moving, and the boat will come to a gradual stop with hopefully the lightest of taps on the dock.
We'll never get it perfect every time, and you still have the turn-up option at the end to bleed off speed. Or even better, if you realize you're coming in too hot, is to step forward and backwind the main, which will stop the boat quickly and can still be used when coming into a crowded dock and squeezing between two boats, where you don't have room to turn.
By shooting for the perfect docking every time, even when you don't quite get it, your dockings will start to make you look like a pro (in the area that everyone is watching you, too!), and you'll get a better control over slow sailing, which comes in very handy in other ways.
One final note: This does not work in tides so low that you have no centerboard. But that's a different blog entry.
Keelboat Docking - Part 1 - Planning and Preparati...
Small Circles - the Gybe
Greg Sweriduk on Wednesday, 15 August 2018 15:06
I would just add that if you have a choice, and assuming the usual SW wind shown, go in and tack near the sea wall and approach the dock on starboard tack. That way, if something goes wrong and you have to bail out, you can just head out and try again. We've all seen boats coming in on port tack, stalling out, then trying to jibe next to the sea wall, which is always a bad idea (maybe the subject of another blog).
Gary Prost on Thursday, 16 August 2018 10:13
How do you "backwind the main," and can you do it when the jib is furled? If you do it by pushing the sail away, won't it turn the boat?
Ryan Alder on Friday, 17 August 2018 12:40
Gary, good questions. You do back the main by pushing the boom all the way out/forward. The jib being furled or not doesn't really matter, except that if the jib is out and full (ie, driving the boat, but this shouldn't be the case when docking), then it's counter-productive to backwinding the main to slow the boat down.
On backwinding turning the boat, that's a good question. A couple things can happen. If the wind isn't directly ahead, but more from the side, then backwinding the main will tend to push the boat sideways. If the wind is dead ahead, then pushing the main all the way out can indeed turn the boat, but usually by that point you're almost to the dock and going slowly enough it doesn't matter and will be minimal.
Neil brought up a good point in the email thread, about tacking away if you're coming in way too hot or if something doesn't feel right. If you're coming in really fast, tack out and try again. Come in lower, try to find the slow sailing course sooner, and de-power earlier. But if you're coming in just a LITTLE fast and want to slow the boat down a little quicker, backwinding can be a good last-few-seconds maneuver.
Gary, good questions. You do back the main by pushing the boom all the way out/forward. The jib being furled or not doesn't really matter, except that if the jib is out and full (ie, driving the boat, but this shouldn't be the case when docking), then it's counter-productive to backwinding the main to slow the boat down. On backwinding turning the boat, that's a good question. A couple things can happen. If the wind isn't directly ahead, but more from the side, then backwinding the main will tend to push the boat sideways. If the wind is dead ahead, then pushing the main all the way out can indeed turn the boat, but usually by that point you're almost to the dock and going slowly enough it doesn't matter and will be minimal. Neil brought up a good point in the email thread, about tacking away if you're coming in way too hot or if something doesn't feel right. If you're coming in really fast, tack out and try again. Come in lower, try to find the slow sailing course sooner, and de-power earlier. But if you're coming in just a LITTLE fast and want to slow the boat down a little quicker, backwinding can be a good last-few-seconds maneuver.


Did the universe originate from a quantum monopole? Backup a few steps, stimulate the conscious, find - An idea in contemplation of the relationship between conscious realms and their origin. Back to those points about inception of the universe and how its creation may not be quite as convenient as science explains. Imagine the insurmountable level of potential energy built up inside the point which created the known universe. When the dense ball of singularity matter exploded, if that's how it took place, the dense point must have possessed its own charge(s) right? Quadrupole origination?
Nearly everything mankind has ever documented is known to hold some type of charge as a property of energetic alignment in the universe. Positive, negative, neutral. Gravity is relative to mass and science knows the object responsible for detonating the big bang had an incredible amount of it. Along with gravitational fields are magnetic fields which are responsible for aligning the components of mass traditionally in a north-south configuration.
Suppose the original ball of matter was so massive and so dense that its magnetic properties actually resembled that of the fabled quantum monopole? During the explosion ejecta flew further and further away while maintaining energy in both momentum and its own physical makeup. Over time new objects evolved from basic properties of the singularity origin by taking on mass, gravitational pull, and multiple pole magnetic properties.


text:
UiAreaMouseEvent::UiAreaMouseEvent(uiAreaMouseEvent *event) {
	e = event;
}

double UiAreaMouseEvent::getX() {
	return e->X;
}

double UiAreaMouseEvent::getY() {
	return e->Y;
}

double UiAreaMouseEvent::getAreaWidth() {
	return e->AreaWidth;
}

double UiAreaMouseEvent::getAreaHeight() {
	return e->AreaHeight;
}

int UiAreaMouseEvent::getDown() {
	return e->Down;
}

int UiAreaMouseEvent::getUp() {
	return e->Up;
}

int UiAreaMouseEvent::getCount() {
	return e->Count;
}

int UiAreaMouseEvent::getModifiers() {
	return e->Modifiers;
}

unsigned int UiAreaMouseEvent::getHeld1To64() {
	return e->Held1To64;
}

NBIND_CLASS(UiAreaMouseEvent) {
	construct<uiAreaMouseEvent *>();
	method(getX);
	method(getY);
	method(getAreaWidth);
	method(getAreaHeight);
	method(getDown);
	method(getUp);
	method(getCount);
	method(getModifiers);
	method(getHeld1To64);
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Middle Aged Couple Who Hold Hands In Public Viewed With Suspicion By Neighbours
Posted on 23/04/2021 in rictus idioticus
"Here comes puppy love," architect's wife & mother of two Iseult O'Malley warned next door neighbour and best friend Margaret Carberry, as they strolled through Herbert Park in the leafy suburb of Ballsbridge.
"I don't care what you say, nobody's that happy without pharmaceutical help," Iseult said firmly, as Joe and Diane Rogan approached.
"I mean, what have they got to be smirking about? He's an accountant on a three day week and she's an art teacher who can't paint."
The Rogan's passed, each smiling madly at O'Malley and Carberry who nodded back without stopping or smiling back.
Suspicion and derision had long ago fought each other to a weary standstill, in the hearts and minds of the Rogan's neighbours. But the stalemate had been reached soonest, within O'Malley and Carberry.
"If a child ever goes missing round here," Carberry said through gritted teeth, "their house would be first on my search list."
O'Malley grunted her agreement before adding, "Dave says every last one of those 'always look on the bright side' perverts work in HR."
"I once dated a guy who was in HR," Carberry mused, "he took me to a karaoke night and sang Three Times A Lady but he didn't drink, so…"
Authored by: News Editor
http://CatMelodeonNews.Com


Would you like to convert electrical equipment approved for use in Europe to Swiss standards? We are the right partner for you. Technologically sophisticated connectors represent a cost-effective and professional solution. Simply deliver your devices in their original packaging directly to us. We will take care of everything else for you: unpacking the device, removing the connector, fitting the Swiss connector, packing the device, preparing the order and shipping. We take care of both small and large-scale series at competitive prices with surprisingly short throughput times. Important in this process: the manufacturer guarantee remains valid thanks to certification.


Upon leaving my residency at RRU, I have a better understanding of my role as an educator. I am able to say that my epistemological beliefs are rooted in interpretivism with a teaching style based on social constructivism and parts of connectivism. As a visual learner, working collaboratively in a group environment while being able to construct my own sense of knowledge is how I learn best. I have found that in the past, I have tried to pass on those preferences to my students in hopes that they learn in the same manner as I. What I gained from my experience at RRU was discovering my epistemological beliefs of knowing and gaining a greater understanding about how the ways in which I learn effect the way I teach; whether tacit of explicit.
It is crucial for an instructor in the digital age to be as technically savvy and skilled as their students in order to provide knowledgable answers for the questions raised by his/her students.
My role as an educator may be more important today in the digital era than ever before. Being in the profession of multimedia and an educator in the field of media studies, it has allowed me to learn and deliver content in a variety of ways. In the digital age, the skills, and demands of this ever-evolving climate are changing drastically at a greater pace than before. "Many educators place critical importance on the social aspect of learning. Ideas are encouraged to be developed between the perspectives of teachers, classmates, peers and colleagues" (Bates, 2015, p. 52). There is no doubt about the importance of the teacher as a facilitator in today's educational system. However, with the abundance of technological advancement in our current educational climate, the real question is if teachers are equipped with the up-to-date skills necessary to assist their students in learning technologies? In addition, are teachers willing to adapt to the advancements of technology and implement them within their current systems? It is crucial for an instructor in the digital age to be as technically savvy and skilled as their students in order to provide knowledgable answers for the questions raised by his/her students. Moreover, it appears to be even more important for educators to help navigate students through their educational careers to decipher between the good and bad knowledge that is readily available online.
Technology is evolving as we speak. Therefore, teachers must have the ability to grasp new concepts quickly and deliver those concepts to their students. In the scope of web-based-learning, technical skills and critical thinking skills are also important. Teachers must learn new ways for facilitating better learning experiences within traditional classrooms and online environments. They must effectively utilize a variety of learning styles and digital media to enhance student engagement and understanding.
After my learning experience on residence at RRU, I realized that in order to be an instructional designer within mobile and distance learning, I have a greater responsibility to fulfill the needs of my students as well as being versed in a multitude of web-based communication tools, languages and learning theories. Although teachers are no longer the primary source of information in the digital age, (which we never were the only source of information) our responsibility is to now contextualize information and guide students in the direction of useful information. Even in the advent of Google, YouTube and Wiki's, the engagement and guidance of educators scaffolds information in ways that students using technology and peer groups do not.
There is no question that if teachers lack technical skills, they will not be able to contribute effectively with their student's. However, having conventional teachers with the technological skills to enable the facilitation of knowledge in the digital age is paramount.
Compassmag.3ds.com,. 'TEACHING TEACHERS / Education / #5 / The 3DEXPERIENCE Magazine – 3DS Compass Mag'. N.p., 2015. Web. 13 Aug. 2015.
I have no idea what that means but it sounds awesome! Kidding aside, this is a great article and I look forward to learning with you over the next few months.


text:
Get the Best Seats
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Mozart and Aucoin - Brentano String Quartet
Da Camera / Zilkha Hall
Ravel - String Quartet in F Major
Matthew Aucoin - String Quartet (Houston premiere/Da Camera co-commission)
Mozart - String Quintet No. 2 in C Minor, K. 406/516
Brentano String Quartet (Mark Steinberg, violin; Serena Canin, violin; Misha Amory, viola; Nina Lee, cello); Hsin-Yun Huang, viola; Matthew Aucoin, guest composer
Internationally recognized as one of the outstanding string quartets of their generation, the Brentano Quartet returns to Da Camera for the premiere of a new work by composer Matthew Aucoin, co-commissioned by Da Camera and Carnegie Hall. Just 29 and already a MacArthur "Genius" grant winner, Aucoin is LA Opera's first ever Artist in Residence and one of the youngest composers ever commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera. Violist Hsin-Yun Huang joins the Brentano for Mozart's powerful masterpiece.
"The diverse elements merge into a personal voice, deployed with prodigious technical skills." – The New York Times on Matthew Aucoin
"prodigiously talented" – The Wall Street Journal on Matthew Aucoin
"The overall effect wasn't that the group was playing music, but releasing it." -- Philadelphia Inquirer on the Brentano Quartet
Dec 6, 2019 at 7:30pm
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home/infectious disease center/ infectious disease a-z list/ is leprosy (hansen's disease) contagious center
Is Leprosy (Hansen's Disease) Contagious? Center
Leprosy is an infection caused by Mycobacterium leprae. Leprosy is only mildly contagious and is transmitted via frequent contact with an infected person or animal. The incubation period for leprosy ranges from two to 10 years. Read more: Is Leprosy (Hansen's Disease) Contagious? Article
Picture of Lepromatous Leprosy
Leprosy, or Hansen's disease, is a chronic multisystem disease that is caused by Mycobacterium leprae, an acid-fast bacillus. See...
Is Leprosy (Hansen's Disease) Contagious? See pictures of Bacterial Skin Conditions See Images
Nosebleeds are common in dry climates during winter months, and in hot dry climates with low humidity. People taking blood...
Leprosy (Hansen's disease) is a disfiguring disease caused by infection with Mycobacterium leprae bacteria. The disease is spread...
Dry skin (xeroderma) may be caused by external factors, like cold temperatures, low humidity, harsh soaps, and certain...
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text:
Whatever, Just Make The Last Episode About Tormund And The Dog
Brian Grubb 05.16.19 2 months ago
Game of Thrones has a problem. The show is now one episode — 80 minutes, give or take — away from its conclusion and things are kind of a mess. Cersei is dead. The Night King is dead. Two of the three dragons are dead. King's Landing is a pile of ash and charred bodies. Fans are upset about all of it. Some fans are really upset. And now the show has almost backed itself into a corner where either Dany gets to continue her freshly-started reign of terror or Jon and/or Arya has to kill her to prevent it from happening. People are going to be mad either way. That's why the show should just make the final episode about Tormund and the dog instead.
All of it. All 80 minutes. Just Tormund and Ghost, the direwolf Jon gave up without so much as a belly rub or a little ear scratchy, roaming the North, going on little adventures, like a version of Turner & Hooch where Tom Hanks is a flame-haired ogre who suckled at the teat of a giant whose husband he killed and Hooch is a snow white fictional wolf. What kind of adventures? I'm glad you asked. Options include:
Ghost steals Tormund's jacket and won't give it back
Tormund keeps calling Ghost "a dog" — hence the title of this post — and Ghost growls at him each time
The two of them solve a murder mystery
A big mean bear corners one of them and the other saves the day
Guess what, Ghost can talk now
Maybe Davos shows up
Brienne can come, too
Tormund tries to housebreak Ghost and hilarity ensues
Cortez and his crew have a big heroin shipment coming into the docks but the chief has already taken Tormund and Ghost off the case so they have to go in and thwart him with no backup
And so on. Or none of that. Maybe they just traipse around in the snow and become pals. I don't know. I'm just throwing some stuff against a wall here. All I do know is that it would be pretty funny if the series finale of the biggest show in the world was just about a goofy giant and his new canine best friend. And why shouldn't it be? You're telling me there's a better plan in place? Sure, maybe there's "a plan" that "ties together a number of themes from previous seasons" and "provides some level of closure," but who wants any of that? Not me! More of this, please.
TOPICS#Game of Thrones
TAGSgame of thronesgame of thrones season 8


Cathy Jo Romanelli Pennington, age 45 of Fairview, TN passed away March 4, 2017. Mrs. Pennington was born March 15, 1971 in Bradford, PA to the late Ralph Romanelli and Celia Romanelli.
Cathy worked at St. Thomas Midtown, formerly Baptist Hospital, for over 20 years. She will be remembered by countless friends and co-workers, especially the rehabilitation staff and the "Ortho Mafia".
Cathy is survived by her husband, Dan Pennington of Fairview; son, Justin Pennington of Fairview; mother, Celia Romanelli of Bradford, PA; brothers, Mark (Linda) and Timothy (Barb) Romanelli, both of Bradford, PA and David Romanelli of Kissimmee, FL; sisters, Julie (Tony) De Bock of Bradford, PA, Ann Bulik of Fredericksburg, VA, and Lisa (David) Dey of Altoona, PA; and several nieces, nephews, family members and friends. A celebration of Cathy's life will be held from 2 P.M. until 4 P.M. on Friday, March 31, 2017 at the Gladys Stringfield Owen Building (Rooms D, E and F) on the campus of St. Thomas Midtown Hospital, 2000 Church Street, Nashville, TN 37203.
The family would like to thank Dr. Habib Doss, and the "6 Stringfield" Staff at Saint Thomas Midtown for their care, love, kindness and compassion.
A huge loss to all of us. Such a beautiful person. May God give you strength.
Our family would like send our condolences for your loss .
I am one of the nurses who took care of Mrs. Pennington on 6 Stringfield. She was so incredible and lovely — I feel very blessed to have met her. I will never forget her and I know there are many others who won't either.


Fun-to-drive and full of personality, our 2015 Ford Fiesta S Sedan in Ingot Silver will make you feel confident each time you slide behind the wheel! This subcompact sedan is powered by a 1.6 Liter 4 Cylinder that generates 120hp while connected to a 6 Speed Automatic transmission that handles smoothly and this rowdy Fiesta reacts quickly to add to your driving enjoyment. Our Front Wheel Drive Sedan helps you to achieve nearly 39mpg on the open road. You will like the smart styling with clean lines and sporty edges.
Inside, the S is edgy and packed with modern features. Voice-activated Ford Sync communication and entertainment system will keep you in touch and in tune to all the latest news, weather and music. Easy-to-use controls, a 6 speaker stereo system, plenty of storage and lighting, comfy cloth bucket seats and a tilt and telescoping steering wheel are just a few of the great features this Fiesta provides.
When it comes to safety this subcompact from Ford received top ratings. Standard safety features include AdvanceTrac electronic stability control, seven airbags, tire pressure monitoring system, four-wheel anti-lock brakes, hill launch assist and Ford's SOS post-crash alert system. This Fiesta is one smart, lively car that is fun to drive and saves money at the pump. You have made an excellent choice! Print this page and call us Now... We Know You Will Enjoy Your Test Drive Towards Ownership! We are family owned and operated. Our family has been helping people to buy quality used cars for over 30 years.


text:
Q: Why do most serializers use a stream instead of a byte array? I am currently working on a socket server and I was wondering
Why do serializers like

*

*XmlSerializer

*BinaryFormatter

*Protobuf-net

*DataContractSerializer
all require a Stream instead of a byte array?

A: It means you can stream to arbitrary destinations rather than just to memory.
If you want to write something to a file, why would you want to create a complete copy in memory first? In some cases that could cause you to use a lot of extra memory, possibly causing a failure.
If you want to create a byte array, just use a MemoryStream:
var memoryStream = new MemoryStream();
serializer.Write(foo, memoryStream); // Or whatever you're using
var bytes = memoryStream.ToArray();

So with an abstraction of "you use streams" you can easily work with memory - but if the abstraction is "you use a byte array" you are forced to work with memory even if you don't want to.

A: if you use a byte array/ buffer you  are working temporarily in memory  and you are limited in size
While a stream is something that lets you store things on disk, send across to other computers such as the internet, serial port, etc. streams often use buffers to optimize transmission speed.
So streaming will be useful if you are dealing with a large file

A: You can easily make a stream over a byte array...but a byte array is inherently size-constrained, where a stream is open-ended...big as you need. Some serialization can be pretty enormous.
Edit: Also, if I need to implement some kind of serialization, I want to do it for the most basic abstraction, and avoid having to do it over multiple abstractions. Stream would be my choice, as there are stream implementations over lots of things: memory, disk, network and so forth. As an implementer, I get those for "free".

A: @JonSkeet's answer is the correct one, but as an addendum, if the issue you're having with making a temporary stream is "I don't like it because it's effort" then consider writing an extension method:
namespace Project.Extensions
{
    public static class XmlSerialiserExtensions
    {
        public static void Serialise(this XmlSerializer serialiser, byte[] bytes, object obj)
        {
            using(var temp = new MemoryStream(bytes))
                serialiser.Serialize(temp, obj);
        }

        public static object Deserialise(this XmlSerializer serialiser, byte[] bytes)
        {
            using(var temp = new MemoryStream(bytes))
                return serialiser.Deserialize(temp);
        }
    }
}

So you can go ahead and do
serialiser.Serialise(buffer, obj);
socket.Write(buffer);

Or
socket.Read(buffer);
var obj = serialiser.Deserialise(buffer);

A: Byte arrays were used more often when manipulating ASCII (i.e. 1-byte) strings of characters often in machine dependent applications, such as buffers. They lend themselves more to low-level applications, whereas "streams" is a more generalized way of dealing with data, which enables a wider range of applications. Also, streams are a more abstract way of looking at data, which allows considerations such as character type (UTF-8, UTF-16, ASCII, etc.) to be handled by code that is invisible to the user of the data stream.

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A Graphic Design student at the University of Chester has been announced as the first winner of the bi-annual student illustration competition to decorate the boardwalk entrance space of Bold Street Studios in Liverpool.
Becki Coverdale has won the street art (StArt) competition, which gives students the chance to demonstrate their creative skills and showcase their work in the centre of the city, as well as winning £1,000.
The brief given was – 'Be fresh. Be vibrant. Be independent. Be modern. Be ambitious. Be Bold.' The competition was organised by Uniform, a design and innovation company employing over 60 staff in Liverpool and London and recently celebrating its 20th anniversary. Uniform owns and operates Bold Street Studios (boldstreetstudios.net) - a place for creative, digital and tech companies to work together that aims to become one of the key creative and digital hubs in the city.
Becki said: "My inspiration was driven from Liverpool's vibrant architecture, landmarks and people. The River Mersey runs throughout the panels, whilst geometric shapes spring up representing different buildings of Liverpool."
Becki's work has been installed in the entrance to Bold Street Studios, a new place for creative, digital and tech companies.


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Goals & Strategies
Al Butkus
Al Butkus joined the Y.O.U. Board in 2011 and serves on the Executive Committee and is chair of the Facilities Committee.
He is an engineer and recently retired as a senior principal at Grumman/Butkus Associates, an Evanston-based firm that specializes in energy efficiency consulting and sustainable design engineering for buildings. He has designed and consulted for many projects around North America, and has published several studies and articles in his field. Al received a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Illinois and a Master of Management degree with honors from Northwestern University.
Al has lived in Evanston since 1975. Previously he served on the Board of the McGaw YMCA, including a stint as Board Chair, and remains active on several committees. He also serves as chair of the Advisory Board of Senior Connections, an Evanston non-profit that provides visitation of isolated older adults by caring volunteers. He and his wife Ellen have three children: Matthew, Abigail, and Gwendolyn, who all attended Evanston schools and still live in the Chicago area. In his free time, Al enjoys road biking and travelling with his family.
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No one likes to lose and everyone likes to win. One of the wisest decisions we can make in life is to be on God's side of every battle, because God never loses. God always wins. In this message, we will look at the life of a man named Elijah who believed God would win long before the outcome of the competition was clear.
God sees everything and knows everything and that is a good thing. We are never alone in life—ever. God is always with us. In this message, we will look at the life of a man named David who went into every battle believing God was with him and for him.


text:
Q: Write extract function in SQL query I need to extract 1421412043 from
REQ: <<online>true</online><cardno>1421412043</cardno><amount> 349812948:00, OLDID= 1969)

I try this, but it gets 1421412043</cardno><amount> 349812948:00, OLDID= 1969):
SELECT
    extract(value, '.*<cardno>(.*).*') AS cardno
FROM ......

How to write that regular expression right?

A: You can use
extract(value, '<cardno>([^<]+)') AS cardno

Or,
extract(value, '<cardno>([0-9]+)') AS cardno

As per the extract reference, "it takes the fragment that matches the first subpattern. Here, ([^<]+) is a capturing group that matches one or more chars other than < (and ([0-9]+) matches and captures one or more digits).


How to fix DELL Printer Issues with Windows 10?
Home » Tech Support » How to fix DELL Printer Issues with Windows 10?
Inventions of printers makes the half of computer work easier. A hard copy sometime is required to make notes, scanning of important document or while doing any legal work. Each printer comes with the own features and functionality that makes them different from others. With the continuous change in technology the quality output of printers being altered. From colour to black and white printer, you can choose any for the execution of your paper.
Several of printers are available in the market and to choose one is pretty difficult. Amongst several of printer brands DELL Printers are one of the most trusted brands. DELL Printers are well known for their quality output and efficient performance. Gradually, printers are a widely popular computer accessory but simultaneously they are prone to errors after getting an upgrade to Windows 10.
Windows 10 is a notable operating system but nothing is perfect. When two devices interact with each other they will trigger issues. From operating system of your computer to drivers of your printer, the issues are unimaginable; instead of supporting they stand against each other if you are using a new operating system and old printer drivers. Hence, if you also encounter similar issue with the computer, after connecting it with the Windows 10 then this blog might prove a better help.
Use Windows 10 own troubleshooting tools to get rid of the printer related issues. In the Windows 10 search box, look for printers and from the list of results choose for printers and devices. It will open the Device and Printers option in Control Panel.
In that Windows search for your printer that is listed either unspecified or printers. Once you find it, right click and select troubleshoot from the appeared menu. Follow the on-screen instructions to troubleshoot the printers. But this may not work always.
If in case Windows 10 troubleshooting do not work and detected you printer, then check whether it has installed properly or not. Click Start and go to Settings – Devices – Printers & scanners. If you are unable to see the printer in the listed main window then click Add a printer or scanner option and wait until Windows detect the printer. Before that make sure that printer is appropriately connected to the computer and its switched is on.
Once you printer gets detected follow the onscreen instructions to get it installed properly. The Windows will automatically download and install the necessary drivers. If it is not listed then click on the printer, here you will get five different options, four of which are for adding the printer.
If your printer is detected, just follow any on-screen instructions to install it — Windows will download and install any necessary drivers automatically. If it isn't listed, click the printer I that I want isn't listed option.
Still if you get no success then install the printer manually and you need appropriate driver this. Printer drivers tend to be an .exe file. To install the driver, just download and run the file.
Every manufacture will not offer Windows 10 drivers for each printer, it is due to either they don't have it or they've dropped support for it in this new version of Windows. In such case you can try Windows 8 driver instead.
If still you are unable to have a working printer, then there are chances that your printer has reached to end of its useful life, with Windows 10. In such case you can ask for driver update from the manufacturer or can take DELL Printer Support.
Alvin has years of experience in technical writing. His flair in writing try to bring new topic in front of the users. He keep on providing detailed blogs with the latest errors and issues occurring in this technological world. Stay updated with all new trending blogs related to antivirus, router, desktop, printer and more.


text:
Palin blasts White House's rapper invite
CNN Associate Producer Gabriella Schwarz
(CNN) - Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin joined the anti-Common refrain Wednesday night, questioning the White House's judgment for inviting the rapper to participate in a poetry event.
"You know, the judgment, it's just so lacking of class and decency and all that's good about America with an invite like this," Palin said on Fox News Channel. "It's just so easy to assume that they're just inviting someone like me or somebody to ask, 'Come on, Barack Obama, who are you palling around with now?"
Common's presence at the event, which is part of Michelle Obama's White House Music Series, drew flack from media figures who pointed to lyrics from his songs, some of which use violent language against former President George W. Bush and police officers.
"This rapper, we thought that we were to be united under the leader of the free world, Barack Obama, in tamping down racism and inciting violence and cop killing, certainly, and killing a former president," Palin said. "All those things that this rapper has glorified and really is known for, it just certainly reflects a lack of judgment on the White House's part."
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney defended the decision, although he said the president "opposes those kind of lyrics."
"It's ironic to pick out those particular lyrics and – about this particular artist, when in fact, he's known as a socially conscious hip-hop artist or rapper who has done a lot of good things," Carney said.
Palin also took the opportunity to address her White House intentions, saying it is still too early to throw her hat in the ring. But she is "happy" former House Speaker Newt Gingrich decided to announce and is looking forward to more candidates jumping in to the race.
"The more competition the better," Palin said. "I'm not disappointed in the field thus far. I look forward to more jumping in there … competition breeds success. Competition is good for all of us in business, in politics. The more the merrier in a primary."
Filed under: Sarah Palin • White House
sarah – just as your bullseye on Congresswoman Giffords was not meant as a threat, I'm sure the rapper's lyrics are not either.
May 12, 2011 09:51 am at 9:51 am |
i wonder what little miss class thinks of her daughter shacking up with two black guys to do a reality show? lol
blf83
Common has more social conscience than Appalling Sarah could ever read about – if she only knew how. Follow the yellow brick road, Sarah. You need a brain.
fbysea
The expert on class, LOL!!
sarah – I don't remember you blasting george bush for his inviting jack abramoff to the white House on several occasions.
Consider This...
Sarah Palin speaking on class and decency. What a hoot! Hey Sarah, you really need to take care of matters closer to home, like your daughter Bristol. You serve no purpose for our country. Please just go away, far, far away.
Wow, i hav listen 2 common for yrs now. he is one of the most conscience artist in the industry. if she actually took the time and listen to the lyrics she wouldnt be spouting such nonsense. has she seen his hbo special spoken word we he has youth frm around the country expressing their thoughts, worries, & goals through poetry. i think not.
Do we really care what Sarah Palin thinks??? Her opinion means nothing.
BostonMWS
Yes, Palin, you and Common certainly have something in common. You both incite people to violence. Think about your own comments during the presidential campaign, and think about how your supporters reacted. Think about your target marks on Gabriel Giffords. I guess you could say that you are more subtle – yet more nefarious.
By the way, could you be more coherent, please? I'm reading your quotes and it's just, you know, this thing that doesn't just make any sense.
Boytjie
And Fox was for Common before they were against him, originally calling him "very positive".
lonewolf270
joyost
I choked on my Cherrios when seeing her use the word "class". This woman knows nothing about class, decency, poetry, the White House, or rapping. But this doesn't stop her from opening her mouth about it. The very same person who has glorified targeting Democratic candidates, complains about inciting violence?
Her sole purpose in life is to keep herself in the news – daily. The $50,000 speaking fees will dry up if she doesn't.
A F
I agree with Palin. There are plenty of talented rappers that don't promote coping killing and assisanation of our presidents that could have been invited.
PC – You sound like a hater.
Jay Shelley
Good – very good, Sarah. You show in your retort just how out of touch you are with America and prove that you are not electable.
Sarah Palin needs the easy, lucrative money from Faux News, so she won't "throw her hat into the ring" for a long time. She knows that when she does announce her intention to run–Faux News has to let her go. In the meantime, she needs to take a remedial English class.
usualone
She is irrevalent at this point. She is speaking to only stir up her shrinking fan club. She must need more monies. Go away Sarah.
MP in VA
If judgement is what Sarah Palin is questioning, then she obviously has never bothered to look in the mirror. I believe some important dude once said, "Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?" Oh, yeah, I forgot, Ms. Palin, subscribes to the philosophy What Would Jesus Do If By Jesus You Mean William DeFoe (WWJWIBJYMWD).
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text:
Whispering Corridors
On December 10, 2012 December 10, 2012 By Genki JasonIn Korean Films2 Comments
Hangul: 여고괴담
Romanisation: Yeogo goedam
Release Date: 30th May 1998 (South Korea)
Running Time: 107 mins.
Director: Park Ki-Hyeong
Writer: Park Ki-Hyeong, In Jung-Ok
Starring: Lee Mi-Yeon, Kim Gyu-Ri, Choi Se-Yeon, Choi Gang-Hee, Kim Min-Jung, Kim Roe-Ha, Kim Yu-Seok, Park Jin-Hee, Yun Ji-Hye, Park Yong-Soo
Schools are a popular location for horror tales from Suspiria and Carrie in the 70's all the way to Death Bell in 2010 and the anime/movie Another in 2012. South Korea has contributed some of the best titles specifically with Whispering Corridors which was made around the same time as The Ring and is one of the titles attributed to the Asian horror boom in the west. Heck, when I was in high school during this boom I was more than aware of Whispering Corridors but I only watched it for the first time while doing this season.
1998, South Korea. A 12th grade homeroom teacher named Mrs. Park is looking through records when she makes a startling discovery. She calls fellow teacher Eun-Young (Lee Mi-Yeon) about a person named Jin-Ju but before she can fully explain her discovery the phone is cut off and she is attacked. The next day a group of students including quiet girl Jae-Yi Yoon (Choi Se-Yeon) and artist Ji-Oh (Kim Gyu-Ri) are part of the class cleaning crew and see Mrs. Park's corpse and are horrified. It looks like suicide but rumours spread about the ghost of Jin-Ju, a former student. A teacher named Mr. Oh (Park Yong-Soo) makes them promise not to spread rumours, promising severe punishment, but when another death occurs, a terrible mystery unfolds.
Before watching Whispering Corridors I was aware of its reputation and the fact that it had spawned something of a franchise with four sequels, each of which has the title Yeogo goedam which literally means Girl's High School and is set in that location. What did I make of the original?
Pretty good.
This sounds like damning with faint praise but it reflects the fact that I had expected a horror film and got something which is less about scares and more about creating a complex ghost story with a believable set of characters.
I hate going into an empty classroom. It's creepy.
The whispering corridors of the film are located in a moss covered school surrounded by bracken choked greenery. It is shot under harsh light of daytime and in the darkest of blacks of night. The film has a chilly, wintry feel where life has been sucked out and the students feeling the pressure retreat into themselves.
Indeed, the students attending school are less concerned with their surroundings and more concerned with their fellows and superiors. Teachers walk around with canes, meting out physical punishment and playing psychological mind-games designed to pit students against each other so they try and beat each other in grades. The most notable offender is Mr. Oh, a truly loathsome character who likes to pontificate and physically beats and molests his students. He sums up the brutal atmosphere with one line, "I know you are all excited about making friends. I advise you to get rid of that cheap sentimentality."
If that sounds over the top it is for a reason.
I prefer ghosts
The film has real depth when you know the history of South Korea. Preceding the making of Whispering Corridors, South Korea entered a new period of democracy with the end of its authoritarian military dictatorship in the early 90's. The subsequent liberalisation of the movie industry and of movie censorship allowed artists in the South Korea's wave of new film schools to explore challenging subjects and themes including addressing the politically tumultuous years. The film's director Park Ki-Hyeong and writer In Jung-Ok insert many scenes that criticise and challenge conformity and authoritarianism.
The authorities running the school can be seen as analogous to the dictatorship. The groping teacher, the heavy threat of violence, the conformity this engenders and the code of silence being enforced are all menacing and it was not long before the setting seemed less like a school and more like a prison camp where lectures feature group punishment and the beating of pupils in between quasi-political messages. It is no wonder that the students find the place horrific.
The film is visually conventional but uses its conventionality to capture the way students are isolated, set against each other and the hatred that wells up. The camera pans between two former friends as they exchange the most surreptitious of glances. There will be the use of a high angle shot to suggest observation of the supernatural kind or judgement. The vicious behaviour of Mr. Oh is shot in uncomfortable close-ups.
The main character Ji-Oh has an air of believability as a teen with her spiky personality, burgeoning independence and the sense exasperation of having people rely on her. She is not quite the non-conformist but her dyed hair and rock music single her out. She is tough and defies teachers at points and as the film progresses, she shows real humanity by befriending a fellow student who is looked down upon by others. She is the new generation and is the one who tries to heal the wounds of the past and cure the problems with authority… as long as people can change.
If the point of a film is for a story to introduce us to a world and find a way of allowing the audience to interpret reality then Whispering Corridors does it very well but despite all of this what matters most of all is the ghost story.
Like any good ghost story it has an air of mystery, guilt and sadness. The haunting and the unfolding tale of tragedy is linked to the harsh conditions of the school. It is believable, though slightly melodramatic, and sad in its telling. The ghost is sympathetic and more than justified in wanting vengeance as it strives to punish all those perpetuating the loneliness and misery of the school. There is not much gore but the palpable emotions felt by characters can be tough to wade through and while it has nothing comparable to the bravura scare scenes of The Ring or Audition the film is still compelling thanks to the complex characters and the dread atmosphere of the location.
Indeed, the moments of terror are relatively few and far between. There are a few jump-scares like exploding windows and a ghost which can transport itself from different places (via jump-cuts). There is also a lot of blood although it is quite tasteful and even beautiful in one scene. I would be lying if I said I found it scary but I did find it well handled and heartfelt which makes it quite an interesting title.


T&L reviewer Shannon Mersand offers an overview of Google Classroom.
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This resource from Kickboard helps educators identify when students are struggling.
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Learn how the Enlarged City School District of Middletown, a National Race to the Top District in Middletown, NY, improved student outcomes.
Shelly Terrell offers useful digital icebreakers for audiences of any age.
To help students and teachers make the transition to Common Core State Standards, Learning Upgrade is offering 100,000 complimentary student licenses.


Enduring the worst of the financial woes are Alabama, Arizona, California, Florida, and Nevada, which face shortfalls greater than 10 percent of their budgets for fiscal 2009, according to the latest survey of state fiscal officers by the Denver-based National Conference of State Legislatures, released last month.
Altogether, the 2009 budget gaps—the difference between what states are expected to collect in revenue and what they're expected to spend on services—will exceed $26 billion, the NCSL says.
In Florida, the gap translates to about $330 million sliced from the operating budgets of its schools, under a budget the legislature agreed to last week. School officials there say the financial picture is the gloomiest it's been in their memories.
"Individual districts now are deciding how to deal with this," said Mark Pudlow, a spokesman for the Florida Education Association, an affiliate of both the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers. "We're hearing everything, from some schools will have to lay off teachers to some districts may have to close schools." He's also heard talk of districts' cutting back on crossing guards.
The reason for the budget problems in Florida and elsewhere is relatively simple: Tax collections across the board are sluggish because of slumping local economies, which dovetail with the national economy. Twelve states aren't collecting as much from personal-income taxes as they thought they would; sales-tax receipts are below target in 16 states; and corporate-income-tax revenue also is below expectations in 16 states.
Things will likely only get worse, especially if the national economy continues to stumble, oil prices continue to soar, and the housing market doesn't start to pick up, said Corina Eckl, the fiscal-program director for the NCSL. She spoke during a session of the organization's spring forum in Washington, at which the survey results were released.
Budget problems are already hitting schools, and not just in Florida.
Delaware lawmakers are planning to cut $30 million from K-12 education, or a little less than 3 percent, next budget year as the state deals with a projected gap of $201 million, or 6 percent of its overall budget. In a telling summary of the state's fiscal situation, included in the NCSL survey, Delaware officials said: "The outlook is grim and rectifying it will require unpopular measures." They did not specify what those would be.
In Tennessee, Gov. Phil Bredesen, a Democrat, has said he will back away from plans to provide an additional $25 million to expand prekindergarten as part of a plan to cut $400 million from the $28 billion fiscal 2009 budget.
In Arizona, which is facing a $1.9 billion deficit, or 18 percent of its budget, the legislature hasn't outlined how it plans to balance the books. But hundreds of students and teachers rallied last week at the state Capitol to urge lawmakers to spare public school funding.
For the 2009 fiscal year, 23 states are expecting budget gaps, with the cumulative shortfall expected to top $26 billion. States' shortfalls are shown as a percentage of their general fund budgets.
Tom Horne, Arizona's state schools chief, sent an April 23 memo warning school officials that "there will be no way to avoid some impact on schools" because of the state's financial straits.
According to the NCSL, most states will resort to spending cuts—and not tax increases—to solve their budget problems.
At least 16 states plan to trim or eliminate programs, including education programs in some cases. Wisconsin, for example, is considering delaying aid payments to schools, a commonly used accounting move by states that can present a cash-flow problem for schools even if it doesn't result in a loss of actual funding.
Eight states, though, are considering tax or fee increases, including Massachusetts, which is contemplating raising cigarette taxes.
While high energy and food prices are helping drag down the economy in most places, states that produce oil, coal, and any other products related to energy—including corn and soybeans, used to make biofuels—appear to be thriving, NCSL officials note. The coal- and natural-gas-producing state of Wyoming, for example, is beating its revenue estimates by 5 percent. In North Dakota, also an oil producer, all tax categories are running ahead of projections.
And Alaska will still be able to leave much of its $8 billion surplus intact. That money alone would underwrite the entire state budget for two years.
"Layoffs Loom Amid California's Fiscal Crisis," March 19, 2008.


text:
María Consuelo Araújo Castro (* 1971 in Valledupar) ist eine kolumbianische Politikerin. Sie war zwischen 2002 und 2006 Kulturministerin im Regierungsteam von Álvaro Uribe. Am 7. August 2006 wurde sie zur Außenministerin ernannt, legte ihr Amt aber aufgrund der Inhaftierung ihres Bruders, Senator Alvaro Araújo Castro, am 19. Februar 2007 mit sofortiger Wirkung nieder. Ihrem Bruder, wie auch ihrem Vater Álvaro Araújo Noguera, werden Verbindungen zu den Paramilitärs in Kolumbien vorgeworfen.

Politiker (Kolumbien)
Außenminister (Kolumbien)
Kolumbianer
Geboren 1971
Frau

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Technology investments will accelerate to take on consumerism and competition. However, issues like interoperability will carry forward into 2016.
Recent media coverage on this topic indicates that many health systems and networks are developing workarounds using available standards to exchange clinical information within and among themselves to improve the patient experience and reduce costs. However, the healthcare IT landscape is far from seamlessly integrated at this point with major EHR vendors and health systems driving independent agendas. The same report notes that 63 percent of hospitals and 69 percent of health systems expect interoperability to be one of the top three data-related challenges over the next three years in performing analytics.
A recent study seems to indicate that consumerism and consumer engagement in healthcare are currently way behind the rhetoric. However, Digital Health funding has been on a tear in 2015, and the rise in funding for on-demand health startups indicates that consumers want healthcare delivered to them – which is a very different paradigm from the way healthcare works today. The lack of affordable insurance on ACA exchanges, low price transparency around healthcare costs, and increasing financial burdens on consumers will drive the shift towards consumerism in 2016.
A report by McKinsey also suggests that consumers are bringing the same expectations to healthcare as they do in other industries. We may not see health insurance companies providing experiences anywhere close to Apple or Amazon, however, they will start implementing and deploying digital technologies that provide better communication and more real-time interaction. One thing, though – there may not be a returns policy anytime soon for healthcare products and services. And oh, by the way, consumers do want their electronic health records.
There is no question that big data is here and will get bigger as more connected devices come online and new data sources such as wearables and social media data gain acceptance, though with some limitations. The promise of big data analytics is built upon an assumption that all these data sources are readily accessible, complete and accurate, and can be easily integrated into standardized data sets on which we can run sophisticated predictive modeling algorithms. This is where reality breaks the promise. Consulting firm Deloitte's 2015 Health System Analytics survey indicates that while analytics is seen as a key to unlock value, the adoption and investment don't necessary add up. In addition, organizations lack a clear strategy, data governance models, and effective budgeting models.
A Health Leaders magazine survey on Population Health Management (PHM), which is the biggest use case for big data analytics, indicates that while 69% of the survey respondents indicated a commitment to some form of a PHM program, they were in early stages of experimentation and hesitant to make big investments at this point. The persistence of data silos and lack of interoperability, and the scarcity of data scientist talent are among several things holding back adoption rates for healthcare analytics. Pockets of excellence are beginning to emerge, however, the focus for most systems seems to be the use analytics for day to day and month to month operational performance metrics.
The story of how Theranos, a lab test startup that was valued at over 9 Billion a year ago and made Founder Elizabeth Holmes a celebrity entrepreneur, was slapped on the wrist for conducting its business with "uncleared" medical devices, was just the start. Zenefits, another "unicorn" Silicon Valley startup that was trying to "disrupt" the insurance broking business, was in the news for selling insurance with unlicensed brokers and flouting insurance laws.
Other hot startups are likely to come under scrutiny next year as the FDA starts going after mobile medical apps that claim to provide "scientifically proven" benefits. CIO's and healthcare executives looking for innovation by partnering with the start-up ecosystem will need to start scrutinizing their current relationships.
As digital transformation takes hold and enterprises essentially turn into software companies, what consulting firm McKinsey refers to as the 2-speed IT model and analyst firm Gartner calls bi-modal IT will create a new type of executive to lead the deployments of agile, consumer-facing, cloud-based, scalable and dynamic IT applications. Big data analytics programs are already run today by Chief Analytics Officers (CAO) who have a direct relationship with executive leadership in healthcare enterprises.
High profile data security breaches this past year and the potential for further devastating hacks of medical devices have made IT security a CEO-level issue in healthcare organizations. In this landscape, there will be increased tension between business executives and traditional IT executives for control. Analyst firms such as IDC and Forrester predict that old-school CIO's will need to rise to the occasion or be left behind.


Chopin's taste must have seemed a matter so trivial that it was never the object of enquiry. Yet his eating habits reveal many surprises and add a coloured brushstroke to his portrait. That curiosity gave rise to this book - an adaptation of a paper presented at the 2010 Chopin Congress, completed with a few recipes and menus that will allow you to recreate the flavours of Chopin's time.