I was recently lucky enough to be given a Roost Laptop Stand to test for this review.
When the package arrived, I was confused. I wasn't expecting anything other than the stand and a few bills to arrive on my doorstep, so I couldn't understand why the box was so light!
When I opened it up, I was instantly chuffed. The stand packs up so small and is so light that you can carry it in your bag everywhere you go.
The quality of the design and attention to detail is excellent. So clever in its simplicity. The stand has a real sturdy feel, despite its lean build.
Just small details like the rubber and claws to grip on to your laptop make this feel and work like a high quality product.
I've had a herniated disc in my spine for the past 18 months or so. Sitting down or standing up for too long is painful. So Roost has been a great way to ease the pressure on my nerve.
It's not really intended to be used this way, but I found if I lie on my back on a yoga mat, with a pillow for my head and the laptop stand on my stomach, the 4 legs are stable enough to hold my Mac in a comfortable position to work in.
Other than that, when I can get back to a vertical position for more than 20 minutes, I'll be using the stand on my desk to bring my laptop up to eye level and avoid any further back or neck problems.
For anyone like me who spends too much time in front of their computer screen, this is a great product.
Compatibility: Laptops with "front edge" less than 0.75″ (1.9cm) thick.
Set up and pack up in seconds.
Adjustable height for any situation.
Weight: 5.8 oz (164 g) Size (folded): 1″ x 1.5″ x 13″.
Includes: Ripstop Nylon Carrying Sleeve.
Currently $74.95 with a 90 day money back guarantee and lifetime warranty.
Purchase here: Buy Roost Laptop Stand online.


text:
ExpressVPN è un servizio di VPN offerto dalla società Express VPN International Ltd., la quale ha la sede nelle Isole Vergini britanniche. Il software è commercializzato come uno strumento di privacy e sicurezza che crittografa il traffico Web degli utenti e maschera i loro indirizzi IP.

Nel 2018, sia TechRadar che Comparitech hanno nominato il servizio come Scelta dell'editore.

Caratteristiche
ExpressVPN è disponibile per Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Linux e router. Per proteggere il traffico degli utenti il software utilizza una CA a 4096 bit, la crittografia AES-256-CBC e TLSv1.2. I protocolli VPN disponibili includono OpenVPN (con TCP/UDP), SSTP, L2TP/IPSec e PPTP.

Server
A partire da marzo 2019, ExpressVPN dispone di oltre 3.000 server remoti in 160 località e 94 Paesi, con un gran numero di server situati in Brasile, Canada, Stati Uniti, Francia, Germania, Italia, Paesi Bassi, Spagna, Svezia, Svizzera, Regno Unito, Australia, Hong Kong, India, Giappone, Singapore, Corea del Sud e Taiwan.

A luglio 2017, ExpressVPN ha annunciato in una lettera aperta che Apple aveva rimosso tutte le app VPN dal suo App Store in Cina, dichiarazione che è stata successivamente riportata dal New York Times e da altri giornali. In risposta alle domande dei senatori degli Stati Uniti, Apple ha dichiarato di aver rimosso 674 app VPN dall'App Store in Cina nel 2017 su richiesta del governo cinese.

Nel dicembre 2017, ExpressVPN è stato oggetto di discussione in relazione alle indagini sull'assassinio dell'ambasciatore russo in Turchia, Andrei Karlov . Gli investigatori turchi hanno sequestrato un server ExpressVPN che secondo loro è stato utilizzato per eliminare le informazioni pertinenti dagli account Gmail e Facebook dell'assassino. Le autorità turche non sono state in grado di trovare alcun registro per facilitare le loro indagini e, a detta della società, ciò ha confermato la filosofia di non memorizzare l'attività degli utenti o i registri delle connessioni, aggiungendo: "anche se è un peccato che strumenti di sicurezza come le VPN possano essere utilizzati in modo illecito, sono fondamentali per la nostra sicurezza e la tutela del nostro diritto alla privacy online. ExpressVPN è fondamentalmente contraria a qualsiasi tentativo di installare "backdoor" o tentativi da parte dei governi di minare in altro modo tali tecnologie".

Note

Collegamenti esterni

Servizi di rete virtuale privata

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology  (SIST), formerly Sathyabama University, is a deemed to be university, situated at Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It was founded in 1987 as Sathyabama Engineering College by the late Jeppiaar and received its deemed to be university status in 2001.

Location
{
  "type": "FeatureCollection",
  "features": [
    {
      "type": "Feature",
      "properties": {},
      "geometry": {
        "type": "Point",
        "coordinates": [
          80.20980834960939,
          12.874396505957503
        ]
      }
    }
  ]
}The university is in Sholinganallur about 15 km from Adyar in Chennai. It has a campus of 400 acres. The university is located on Rajiv Gandhi Salai (formerly known as Old Mahabalipuram Road and popularly known as IT Corridor).

Accreditation and certification
Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology has been accredited by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) with 'A' Grade.

SATHYABAMA has received ISO 9001:2008 certification.

The University is accredited by the governing body, National Buildings Organisation (NBO), Computer science engineering department latestly got the privilege of being accredited by NBO.

Rankings

The National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) ranked Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology 55st in the engineering ranking in 2021, 40th among universities and 61st overall.

Facilities

Co-Curricular Activities
Sathyabama offers visits to companies. Some of the activities like Industrial Visit, Inplant Training, Advisory Bureau for Higher Studies, Entrepreneur Development Cell, Guest Lectures, Foreign Language Classes and Sports.

Centre for nanoscience and nanotechnology
The Centre for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology was established in January 2006. The Centre was upgraded in 2011 with Advanced research Instrumentation facilities like FE-SEM, XRD, E-beam, DC thermal, RF, AFM, PLD, etc. The centre has a team of Scientists working in the area of Material Sciences, Thin Film Coatings, Nanofabrications, Environmental Nanotechnology, Concrete Research, Marine Biotechnology, Nanobiotechnology and Molecular Medicine, Nanomedical Sciences and Drug Discovery, Polymer Chemistry etc.

References

External links

Official website

Christian universities and colleges in India
Deemed universities in Tamil Nadu
Engineering colleges in Chennai
Universities in Chennai
Academic institutions formerly affiliated with the University of Madras
Educational institutions established in 1987
1987 establishments in Tamil Nadu


A specialist group of European researchers are studying the remains of prehistoric human settlements which are now submerged beneath our coastal seas. Some of these drowned sites are tens of thousands of years old. From the progressive discovery and analysis of these prehistoric remains, a new scientific field has emerged, combining the expertise from many disciplines including archaeology, oceanography and the geosciences. The new field is called Continental Shelf Prehistoric Research.
This rapidly evolving research field is the focus of a new European Marine Board (EMB) position paper titled 'Land Beneath the Waves: Submerged Landscapes and Sea-Level Change.' The paper describes how during the successive ice ages of the last 1 million years, the sea level dropped at times by up to 120m, and the exposed area of the continental shelf added 40% to the land area of Europe; a terrain occupied by vegetation, fauna, and people. Consequently, many of the remains and artefacts of Europe's prehistory are now underwater. Considering that pre-humans inhabited the Black Sea coast 1.8 million years ago, the coast of northern Spain over 1 million years ago and; the coast of Britain at least 0.8 million years ago, the drowned land includes some of the earliest routes from Africa into Europe, and the areas where people survived during the multiple Ice Ages.
More than 2,500 submerged prehistoric artefact assemblages, ranging in age from 5,000 to 300,000 years, have been found in the coastal waters and open sea basins around Europe. Only a few have been properly mapped by divers, or assessed for preservation or excavation. These remains contain information on ancient seafaring, and the social structures and exploitation technologies of coastal resources before the introduction of agriculture some 10,000 years ago. To understand how prehistoric people responded to changing sea level, researchers combine examinations of these deposits with palaeoclimate models, reconstructions of ice-cap and sea level curves, and sophisticated survey and excavation techniques.
The EMB paper reports that seabed prehistoric remains are being destroyed by natural erosion and industrial disturbance. The paper stresses that Europe's submerged prehistory needs to be studied at a sea basin scale, and integrated at European level, which cannot be funded adequately by universities and national agencies alone. Compliance with the UNESCO convention on Underwater Cultural Heritage, and other treaties and directives, can only be ensured by collaboration and funding at European level.
The existing research community is sparse and scattered, and a new emphasis is needed for training marine archaeologists in Continental Shelf Prehistoric Research, while promoting collaboration with engineers, climate change experts and numerical modellers. Many initial findings are made by industrial operations, whose role can be strengthened by improving collaboration with national cultural heritage agencies and academics, both to encourage the reporting of findings and to map, protect, and where appropriate, excavate the archaeological materials such as hut foundations, hearths, food remains, skeletons, shaped flint tools, hand axes, and paddles for canoes embedded in the sediments on the sea floor.


As a child of the 70's this took me back. Especially liked the replica Argos catalogue. Great gift idea.
I didn't buy it for me; me bought it for I, and I'm mortified. I was never a '70s child but I sure as well wouldn't be happy to have bought this and nostalgised after some post-it stamp little cardboard replicas. That's all it ever amounts to, all it ever was. Save yourself the time and don't begin to nostalgise after washing-up liquid ads and testcards in the first instance because you're a saddo otherwise who'll never begin to get off this planet alive. There's nothing warm and cosy about it. There may have been something warm and cosy about your life at the time, about the room you were in, the people and parents and family around you, how you were further made to feel, but that was exploited by these corporations and these governments so you'd make an association with their adverts, their brands, their products, their names and reputations... BULL!
Rather disappointed with this. Maybe I didn't read the description properly but expected more.
Bought this for my husbands 40th birthday, especially loved the argos book.
Although small this is a great buy and really takes you back.
Thought this would contain 1978 memorabilia however had a mix of 70s.
5.0 out of 5 starsA Real blast from the past.
This is cool. Love the Argos catalog. There's also reproductions of concert tickets and brochures etc. A Real blast from the past.
5.0 out of 5 starsGteat goft for my dad.
My dad loved these as a present on fathers day.


Thinking about buying a brand new home? One of the images that springs to mind is the construction site, bustling with activity as a succession of workers and subtrades build your home from the ground up.
The reality is that increasingly your new home is built in factories and then assembled on your building site. Pre-fabricated roof trusses, pre-assembled wall panels, ready-to-install kitchen cabinets, pre-finished flooring…these and many other components used to be built piece-by-piece on site. Today, the vast majority of new home builders take full advantage of the quality, precision and just-in-time delivery of manufactured building components. This allows them to provide their customers with a high-quality home efficiently, cost-effectively and within a shorter timeframe.
As manufacturing processes have become more sophisticated, opportunities for moving the construction of homes inside the factory have expanded. Factory-built housing is a growing industry in Canada, reflecting changes in home construction here and elsewhere. In Sweden, for instance, close to 90% of all new homes are factory-built.
Today, homebuyers and new home builders can choose from a number of factory-built systems that provide a home in varying degrees of completion—from modular and manufactured homes that arrive on site virtually complete, to pre-engineered and panelized homes that reduce the amount of work required at the site.
As the name implies, modular homes are built in three-dimensional modules, offering homebuyers and builders a great deal of design flexibility. The homes are very energy efficient and can be built to the R-2000 Standard—the highest standard for energy performance in Canada.
Modules can be combined to make one-, two- or three-storey homes. While a typical two-storey home consists of four or five modules, larger custom homes might use eight or more of varying dimensions. A small, but growing number of developers have also turned to modular construction for multi-family complexes (e.g. row housing).
When the modules arrive on your lot, they are ready for assembly on the foundation. Insulation, air/vapour barriers, plumbing, wiring, siding and other construction details are mostly completed. Interior finishing is usually well advanced, including drywall, trim, flooring and cabinets. Completing your home on site can take the builder a couple of weeks or more, depending on the size, style and features of the home. Some features and custom upgrades are best done on site, such as brick siding and some hard surface flooring.
A manufactured home is the option that is the most complete when it leaves the factory; it is often ready for move-in the same day or a few days after it arrives on your site. Due to their unique structural design, manufactured homes can be installed on surface foundations, such as piers. They can also be relocated, although the majority are never moved from their original site. Built in one or two sections, manufactured homes are available in many designs and layouts, with a wide selection of standard and customized features.
Characteristic of panelized homes are pre-fabricated wall sections that can reduce on-site construction time considerably. The panels can be partially or fully completed, with windows, doors and siding often installed already. For pre-engineered homes, the major building components are prepared in the factory and shipped to the building site as a package ready for assembly, including framing materials, doors, windows, roofing, siding, interior wall partitions and subflooring. The pre-engineered building system emphasizes precision design and pre-cutting and can be used for virtually any home design, from standard cottage plans to highly customized dream homes.
For more information about factory-built housing, go to www.cmhi.ca or contact the Canadian Manufactured Housing Institute at 613.563.3520.


Thanks! And that really is interesting about the Coptic Christians. I'd never heard of them, but I think it's cool that about 2% of all Coptic Christians in the entire country are in Nashville.
Anyway, I'm going to continue with the number crunching and now list the 10 largest religious denominations for all the metropolitan areas in the state.
The name "Coptic" came from the language, which is Egyptian and the spelling, which is basically using the Greek (Koine) alphabet with 6 additional characters (and some borrowed words). They went from their own Egyptian characters, to the Greek due to Alexanders conquest. It was the every day language of Egypt. It came to identify the "Christian" churches in Egypt and then to a sub set/sect with all the controversies of the later centuries after Christ.
Wow, very interesting data. Thanks for the breakdowns, JMT.
As an Episcopalian, I found it interesting that the larger counties had a presence in the top 10 (with the exception of Shelby...I'm guessing just outside the top 10?), but not so much as you go down the list.
I'm an Episcopalian, too. Not much of us in the South!
Definitely not. But we still have some of the most beautiful churches.


text:
Q: Is there any method to check memory address of Javascript variable? Is it possible to find the memory address of a JavaScript variable in modern Javascript? Or address of Typescript variable.
I am confused about the pass by value and pass by reference, using memory address it is easy to understand the reality. Now we have now ES8 and Typescript but still unable to get memory address of variable and Object.

A: All JavaScript runtimes that I know of hide this from you.
However, you can simulate the behavior of a memory pointer by using Typed Arrays and an appropriate buffer view based on the type of data you wish to store.  You can simulate a pointer by saving your data at a particular offset, and then passing that offset around to different functions that manipulate the data directly in the typed array: aka the offset acts sort of like a low-level pointer.

A: JavaScript itself is meant to be implementation-agnostic, so concepts like memory addresses are intentionally absent from the language itself. Outside of the language, you can use the browser's debugging tools to take a memory snapshot, and that might contain the information. Note, however, that there is no real guarantee that an object will retain its address.

A: From this post:
It's more or less impossible - Javascript's evaluation strategy is to always use call by value, but in the case of Objects (including arrays) the value passed is a reference to the Object, which is not copied or cloned. If you reassign the Object itself in the function, the original won't be changed, but if you reassign one of the Object's properties, that will affect the original Object.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
<?php

return [

    /*
    |--------------------------------------------------------------------------
    | Validation Language Lines
    |--------------------------------------------------------------------------
    |
    | The following language lines contain the default error messages used by
    | the validator class. Some of these rules have multiple versions such
    | as the size rules. Feel free to tweak each of these messages here.
    |
    */

    'accepted'   => ':attribute باید پذیرفته شده باشد.',
    'active_url' => 'آدرس :attribute معتبر نیست.',
    'after'      => 'مقدار :attribute باید یک تاریخ بعد از :date باشد.',
    'alpha'      => 'مقدار :attribute باید فقط شامل حروف باشد.',
    'alpha_dash' => 'مقدار :attribute باید فقط شامل حروف، اعداد و خط فاصله باشد.',
    'alpha_num'  => 'مقدار :attribute فقط باید شامل حروف و اعداد باشد.',
    'array'      => 'مقدار :attribute باید به صورت آرایه باشد.',
    'before'     => 'مقدار :attribute باید یک تاریخ قبل از :date باشد.',
    'between'    => [
        'numeric' => 'The :attribute must be between :min and :max.',
        'file'    => 'The :attribute must be between :min and :max kilobytes.',
        'string'  => 'The :attribute must be between :min and :max characters.',
        'array'   => 'تعداد :attribute باید بین :min و :max باشد.',
    ],
    'boolean'        => 'The :attribute field must be true or false.',
    'confirmed'      => 'The :attribute confirmation does not match.',
    'date'           => 'The :attribute is not a valid date.',
    'date_format'    => 'The :attribute does not match the format :format.',
    'different'      => 'The :attribute and :other must be different.',
    'digits'         => 'The :attribute must be :digits digits.',
    'digits_between' => 'The :attribute must be between :min and :max digits.',
    'email'          => 'The :attribute must be a valid email address.',
    'exists'         => 'The selected :attribute is invalid.',
    'distinct'       => 'مقدار :attribute یک مقدار تکراری دارد.',
    'filled'         => 'The :attribute field is required.',
    'image'          => ':attribute باید یک عکس باشد.',
    'in'             => 'The selected :attribute is invalid.',
    'in_array'       => 'مقدار :attribute در :other وجود ندارد.',
    'integer'        => 'The :attribute must be an integer.',
    'ip'             => 'The :attribute must be a valid IP address.',
    'json'           => 'مقدار :attribute باید یک JSON معتبر باشد.',
    'max'            => [
        'numeric' => 'The :attribute may not be greater than :max.',
        'file'    => 'The :attribute may not be greater than :max kilobytes.',
        'string'  => 'The :attribute may not be greater than :max characters.',
        'array'   => ':attribute نباید بیشتر از :max آیتم داشته باشد.',
    ],
    'mimes' => 'The :attribute must be a file of type: :values.',
    'min'   => [
        'numeric' => 'The :attribute must be at least :min.',
        'file'    => 'حجم :attribute باید حداقل :min کیلوبایت باشد.',
        'string'  => 'The :attribute must be at least :min characters.',
        'array'   => 'The :attribute must have at least :min items.',
    ],
    'not_in'               => 'The selected :attribute is invalid.',
    'numeric'              => 'The :attribute must be a number.',
    'present'              => ':attribute باید وجود داشته باشد.',
    'regex'                => 'فرمت :attribute نامعتبر می‌باشد.',
    'required'             => 'The :attribute field is required.',
    'required_if'          => 'The :attribute field is required when :other is :value.',
    'required_unless'      => 'فیلد :attribute اجباری است تا زمانی که :other در :values باشد.',
    'required_with'        => 'فیلد :attribute اجباری است تا زمانی که :values وجود داشته باشد.',
    'required_with_all'    => 'فیلد :attribute اجباری است تا زمانی که :values وجود داشته باشد.',
    'required_without'     => 'The :attribute field is required when :values is not present.',
    'required_without_all' => 'The :attribute field is required when none of :values are present.',
    'same'                 => 'The :attribute and :other must match.',
    'size'                 => [
        'numeric' => 'The :attribute must be :size.',
        'file'    => 'حجم :attribute باید به اندازه :size کیلوبایت باشد.',
        'string'  => 'مقدار :attribute باید به اندازه :size کاراکتر باشد.',
        'array'   => 'The :attribute must contain :size items.',
    ],
    'string'   => 'The :attribute must be a string.',
    'timezone' => ':attribute باید دارای مقدار یک ناحیه معتبر باشد.',
    'unique'   => ':attribute قبلا انتخاب شده است.',
    'url'      => 'فرمت :attribute نامعتبر می‌باشد.',

    /*
    |--------------------------------------------------------------------------
    | Custom Validation Language Lines
    |--------------------------------------------------------------------------
    |
    | Here you may specify custom validation messages for attributes using the
    | convention "attribute.rule" to name the lines. This makes it quick to
    | specify a specific custom language line for a given attribute rule.
    |
    */

    'custom' => [
        'attribute-name' => [
            'rule-name' => 'پیام سفارشی',
        ],
    ],

    /*
    |--------------------------------------------------------------------------
    | Custom Validation Attributes
    |--------------------------------------------------------------------------
    |
    | The following language lines are used to swap attribute place-holders
    | with something more reader friendly such as E-Mail Address instead
    | of "email". This simply helps us make messages a little cleaner.
    |
    */

    'attributes' => [],

];

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
arhive |
| за нас
| за контакт
| литарт
litart |
| ателие
atelier |
| фотоателие
fotoatelier
"Europe 2001" magazine is a publication about culture and social policy with periodicity of 6 issues per year. Its first edition appeared at the beginning of 1994. Since then, it has been on the media market for 14 years. The main goal of the publication is to give the readers information about the various European countries, their economy, culture, traditions, social life.
The magazine cooperates with the embassies and cultural institutions of different countries in Sofia as each edition is dedicated to a particular country. The presentation of the country starts with an interview with the president or the prime-minister of the country and the ambassador of its diplomatic mission in Sofia. Under the headings of "File" and "Society" we publish materials related to the economy, social structure and history of the country we present and its relationship with Bulgaria. The cultural interconnections are covered under the heading of "Europeans", "Cities", "Art", "Shop-window", "Traditions". We have rubrics about modern Bulgarian art - "Atelier", "Photo Atelier", "Litart" in which we present artists, photographers, poets.
Our partners up to this moment have been the embassies of Greece, Ireland, Czech Republic, Sweden, Norway, Italy, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Finland, Denmark, Portugal, Germany, Spain, Slovakia, Austria, Slovenia, Poland, Cuba, Croatia, Morocco, Kazakhstan, Turkey and others.
All the materials have short summaries in English.
The scheme of distribution of the magazine is the generally applied one for this kind of editions - subscription, free sale by means of distributor companies and maintenance of an Internet site. This scheme ensures "Europe 2001" magazine a wide range of readers (students, teachers, journalists, diplomats, politicians, traders, managers of companies, artists, etc.) throughout the country.
The publication of each edition involves an official presentation before audience of approximately 150 people, which is opened by the ambassador of the respective country.
Veneta Gencheva

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
The Moral Psychology of Admiration
Edited by Alfred Archer and André Grahle
This volume is an interdisciplinary exploration of admiration, examining the nature of this emotion, how it relates to other emotions, and what role it plays in our moral lives.
Ebook ISBN: 9781786607690 Release date: Mar 2019
Hardback ISBN: 9781786607683 Release date: Mar 2019
Series: Moral Psychology of the Emotions
By bringing the work of philosophers and psychologists together this volume is an interdisciplinary, though predominantly philosophical, exploration of an often discussed but rarely researched emotion; admiration. By exploring the moral psychology of admiration the volume examines the nature of this emotion, how it relates to other emotions such as wonder, envy and pride and what role admiration plays in our moral lives. As to the latter, a strong focus is on the potential link between admiration, emulation and the improvement of our characters, as well as of society as a whole.
Section 1: The Nature of Admiration / 1. No More Heroes Any More? Sophie-Grace Chappell / 2. Ideals and Idols: On the Nature and Appropriateness of Agential Admiration, Antti Kauppinen / 3. Happy Self-Surrender and Unhappy Self-Assertion: A Comparison between Admiration and Emulative Envy, Sara Protasi / 4. Admiration and Self-Respect, Jan-Willem van der Rijt / Section 2: History / 5. Gazing Upwards to the Stage – Mendelssohn's Notion of Admiration and its Consequences, Anne Pollok / 6. Nietzsche on Admiration and Admirableness, Simon Robertson / Section 3: Social and Political Dimensions of Admiration / 7. Revolutionary Admiration, Vanessa Wills / 8. Judging in Times of Crisis: Wonder, Admiration, and Emulation, Marguerite La Caze / 9. Admiration as Normative Support, André Grahle / 10. Admiration for Animals (working title), Amanda Cawston / Section 4: Admiration and Moral Education / 11. Is It Morally Good To Admire? Psychological Perspectives on the Potentials and Limits of Admiration and Elevation, Ines Schindler / 12. Admiration and the Development of Moral Virtue, Alan T. Wilson / 13. Obstacles to the Admiration of Moral People, Florien M. Cramwinckel and Benoît Monin / 14. How Admiring Moral Exemplars Can Ruin Your Life: The Case of Conrad's "Lord Jim", Alan Thomas, Alfred Archer and Bart Engelen
Alfred Archer, is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Tilburg University
André Grahle is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, München.
This is an excellent collection of essays on the "moral psychology of admiration." Archer (Tilburg Univ., Netherlands) and Grahle (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Germany), both philosophers, organize the essays into four parts: "The Nature of Admiration," "History," "Social and Political Dimensions of Admiration," and "Admiration and Moral Education." The contributors are mostly philosophy and psychology professors at European and American universities, but their expertise extends to a variety of other disciplines. This book could serve as textbook in courses on moral psychology. . . this is a worthwhile resource for those interested in admiration as an aspect of moral philosophy or moral psychology.
Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty.
Admiration is a central but much neglected ethical notion. This new book edited by Alfred Archer and Andre Grahle helps to make up for this neglect. A much needed and very welcome volume.
Michael Slote, Professor of Philosophy, University of Miami
There is much to admire in this richly nuanced, interdisciplinary investigation into the nature and significance of admiration. This volume is a delightful and informative read, full of engaging, real-life examples and thought-provoking claims on the difference between admiration and envy, on its (limited) role in moral upbringing, and on the thin line between useful admiration and harmful worshipping.
Katrien Schaubroeck, Senior Lecturer, Department of Philosophy, University of Antwerp


You can use a ±12V sensor adapter to connect this sensor to your InterfaceKit or Hub. See the Connection & Compatibility tab for more details.
These current transducers (and many like them) require both +12V and -12V supplied to them in order to function. Luckily for you, we've created an adapter that will handle this oddity and take the 5 volts from a Phidget InterfaceKit or Hub and produce ±12V for these sensors. The adapter comes with a cable that will connect itself to this sensor.


"Vulnerable plaque: quantification in vivo and role of endoplasmic reticulum stress"
The diagnosis of atherosclerotic plaque as "vulnerable" typically occurs after acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and often post mortem. We are developing imaging tools to quantify the thin fibrous cap and lipid core with the long-term goal of predicting the degree of vulnerability. We combine these imaging methods with the study of sarco-endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ signaling mechanisms that may regulate coronary smooth muscle proliferation and apoptosis, putative key events in AMI.


The term Neolithic can be explained as the era of farmers who were without metal tools. Up until the 1950's this period was considered to have lasted from about 2,300 to 1,900 B.C. However, the introduction of radiocarbon dating has allowed archaeologists greater insight into this period. The era is now thought to have begun much earlier, around about 4,500 B.C., with the changes taking place far more slowly and gradually than once was thought.The Neolithic farmers were both pastoral and agrarian; they needed far more open land than the hunter-gatherers of the Mesolithic. Although there is some evidence that pastoralism actually began in the Mesolithic.
The Neolithic farmers increased the amount of woodland clearances, felling and burning the woods at a steady rate as population grew. The initial stages of clearing would have produced a patchwork of open spaces amongst the woodland. However, after 3,000 B.C the amount and extent of clearing really intensified, probably due to a rapid growth in population creating a need for more food. Coupled with the intensification of the clearing, the increased level of grazing by animals did not allow woodland generation to take place. In time, the clearings coalesced and were to develop into large open expanses of grassland.
One of the main reasons behind this increased impact on the landscape was the use of polished stone axes. The Palaeolithic and Mesolithic peoples did have stone implements; however, a polished stone axe was far more potent, indeed they were almost as effective as axes made of steel when used on soft woods such as birch. Studies have shown that large areas of woodland; could be felled very quickly, by men wielding such axes as these.
Another factor to the growth of clearings in Eryri was the ease of obtaining these particular axes; indeed, the stone for the implements was to be found locally. The rocks hewn from the ancient quarries of Y Graig Lwyd at Penmaenmawr were stronger than flint, but the rock fractured in the same way. Once the rough shape was 'flaked off` the edges could be worked upon, as could its shape. The surfaces were polished lower down the mountain; this would have taken a far longer period. Polished stone axes from Penmaenmawr have been found in many areas of Britain.
Megalithic Tombs are some of the most striking archaeological remains in Eryri, they also point to an indisputable amount of contact between Neolithic communities. Along the west coast of Eryri, the tombs found are much more varied then some other areas, such as the Cotswold - Severn Group. The most significant are the 'portal dolmens`; these have huge capstones and high entrances and are related to those found in South-east Ireland.
Of a later date than the 'portal dolmens', the massive passage grave of Barclodiad y Gawres, on Ynys Mon has similarities to the tremendous tombs of the Boyne valley. This distribution shows that the builders of the tombs were no stronger to seafaring.
The main use of the tombs; were as sites of communal burial, some fifty individuals were found at one tomb site. However, it is likely that the sites were also places of communal ritual. That the tombs or cromlech were the focus for quite different groups or clans is difficult to prove, as would be the likely estimate of how many people these cromlech sites 'serviced'. However, the number of people required to build such tombs is a little easier to appraise.
Due to the acid nature of the soils, little if any remains of their abodes can be found. What little that does exist to the present shows one exactly why one encounters such difficulty in finding evidence of their occupancy - the timber framed houses with their wattle and daub walls, are not the most enduring forms of buildings; the materials would have been assimilated back in the ground very quickly indeed, even those with stone footings. Many sites such as the timber house at Llandegai have primarily been detected by chance; an Industrial Estate was being built there.
At sites such as this, only the locations of the pole holes of the upright frame poles can be found. However, with greater sophistication in Archaeological survey techniques, coupled with the identification of potential sites - greater comprehension and appreciation of the period should be achieved. At the moment they have barely scratched the surface as regards to Neolithic history in the area. The finds are limited to stone axes and chert implements found near the mouth of the valley in the lower Seiont area. Who knows how many locations have been destroyed over the years, or damaged by later sites?
Also what is not known, or is rather difficult to define is the origin of the use of the trackways through the mountains. A 'neolithic' pathway is almost certainly found heading up the valley and over Pen y Pass.


?Inter have fined club captain Mauro Icardi €100,000 for being late to training, with tensions simmering around his stalling contractual talks.
The Argentine has been in fine form on the pitch for the Serie A side this term, scoring 13 goals in 22 appearances for the Nerazzurri. However, off the pitch it has been less savoury, with the club seeking to extend his contract beyond its current expiry date of June 2020, and the player and his wife and agent, Wanda Nara, driving a hard bargain.
As initially reported by Sky Sport Italia, and relayed by ?Football Italia, the 25-year-old was fined the whopping total of €100,000 for his late arrival for the club's first training session back since the winter break.
It was the second time the club have been forced to resort to such measures this season, after hitting Radja Nainggolan with a similar fine for the same crime.
The news came on the same day that Nara told Spanish publication ?AS that the two parties are "very far away" from agreeing a new deal.
She explained: "We're far from reaching an agreement. The figures being talked about in Italy aren't true and we haven't received a satisfactory proposal from ?Inter yet.


Many, many years ago, I read a short story about a young man and woman who, on an English Summer's day, are frozen in time by visitors from elsewhere, probably the future. There's a good story that follows, which I won't go into here, and I really enjoyed it. The only problem was that I read it when I was about 10 and I was at someone else's house, flicking through their book collection. After that point, although I remembered the story, I did not remember either the title or the author.
Now, this begin before the age of easy searching, I really had no simple way to find the story, unless someone else had read it and recognised my telling of it. When you tell your version of a story to someone else, it's much like when you make a map – you put the things that interest you on there and this often reveals how much difference there is in interpretation.
Some years went by, probably about 25 or so, and I had taken to browsing collections of short stories in second hand book stores, looking for the work. It wasn't a full-time occupation but, if I ran across a new store, I'd duck in and see what they had. I must have looked over about 10 countries, on three continents, idly looking for a story that I (by now) dimly remembered.
One day, I found it. The name of the story was "An Infinite Summer" by Christopher Priest, who was actually someone I had read and enjoyed for his novels, in a collection of the same name. I was so delighted after so many years of searching that the bookseller asked me what was up and, on hearing the story, gave the book to me for free.
This happens to be the version I have now. A simple cover belies a complex set of stories.
And it's still a great story. Character driven, well-written and with just enough time travel to make it work, without bogging down in the unnecessary mechanics of impossible machines.
Let's move forward to this year, some 10 years later, and I happen to be at LonCon3, the World Science Fiction Convention for 2014, in the room for the sessions "In Conversation: Naomi Alderman and Christopher Priest". I'm rather excited as I'd never seen Priest in the flesh before and his story is a part of the unfolding of my life. It wasn't exactly a Golden Fleece but it was definitely a plank on the ship!
So the conversation unfolds and, delightfully, Priest is fiery, smart, opinionated, unrepentantly definite about things that I also happen to be unapologetic about and then he talks about his writing.
"I don't believe in aliens, space ships or time travel", he says, which explains much of his work and its fascination with a very human future, devoid of most of the tricks that are used to bring tension into the narrative. But the time travel thing piqued my curiosity, because "An Infinite Summer" is a glorious tale of time and time lost, told within the mythical context of the endless English Summer.
There's a pause, some time for recollection, and he says" Well, yes, they stopped people in time." A pause.
And he pauses again, nods, and there is a bit of a chuckle from the audience as the moderator notes that I appear to know that work better than he does now.
"Yes," he says, "thank you." I must be honest that his "thank you" sounded a little… cool but I suspect that this was because I was terribly embarrassed myself for putting him in that position.
And yet, what a testament to the strength of the original work and its concept! There I am, transfixed and frozen in time at a moment where a much younger Christopher Priest is writing this story – this story reaches out to me and holds itself in my memory and it is a part of the mythology of my own life. Yet, he, having set the tableau down, moves on to do other things. This is "An Infinite Summer", told with new players, and possibly, having written this down, somewhere it will be told again.
You never know how people are going to remember you and, in the short span that I've been blogging, it's come back to me how some of my posts resonate deeply with people (not many) and they remember the contents more than I do. Yet I'm already moving on and looking ahead to other things. I should have known this because, as an educator, I sometimes have a bigger place in someone's world than they do in mine – which I'm trying to change by getting to know my students better. I'm an okay person but I'm a lousy creature of myth.
I don't actually think I bothered Mr Priest with this and I still love that story – now it's helped me to realise and appreciate how your works can be seen over a lifetime but also, before I actually get much older, to realise that what I have done is another set of steps towards what I'm going to do.
Thank you, Christopher Priest, for a wonderful story, an experience that echoed it, and being extremely willing to participate with a community that obviously enjoys your work.


The Federal Emergency Management Agency defines emergency management is the managerial function charged with creating the framework within which communities reduce vulnerability to hazards and cope with disasters.
Another definition may be mitigating and preparing for natural or man-made emergencies, coordinating the response when they happen and expediting the recovery from them.
Emergency Management coordinates the efforts of first responders and others to minimize the impacts of any emergency. In the picture below, emergency management assumes a key role wherever the responsibilities for responding to two or more city departments/emergency services overlap.
Palestine's Emergency Management Coordinator (EMC) is Scott Parkhurst. Scott is available to provide a brief presentation on emergency management to your group or organization. He can be reached at the information listed below.
Palestine is served by a system called "Code Red." Code Red allows residents to sign up for emergency or general notifications from the city on their cell or home phones as well as by email. There is no fee to sign up or use the Code Red service. However, standard messaging rates may apply. For additional information regarding Code Red, please contact the EMC. His contact information is at the bottom of this page. To sign up for Code Red, click on the image below.


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The Law Office of John Ratnaswamy
https://www.law-energy.com/
Firm Practice Areas
Firm News & Media
The Law Office of John Ratnaswamy, LLC, is dedicated to representing clients in a professional, effective, and efficient manner that draws on decades of experience. John Ratnaswamy has spent more than two decades counseling and representing electric and natural gas industry clients, including before utility commissions and on appeal.
John has been selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America© from 2010-2020 and was named its 2014 Chicago "Lawyer of the Year" in the field of Energy Law. John also has been recognized in Chambers USA from 2007-2018, the Leading Lawyers Network from 2012-2019, and as an Illinois "Super Lawyer" from 2010-2019 in the field of energy and natural resources law.*
John has served as counsel in the preparation and litigation of over 20 natural gas and electric utility rate cases since 1999, and he has also served as counsel in related appeals. He served as lead outside counsel for five of those rate cases.John has served as counsel in numerous other natural gas and electricity regulation matters. His experience includes, among other things:integrated resource planning and major procurements;tariffs, business processes, and compliance;investigations and audits, including reviews of prudence, costs, reliability, program and project management, accounting, and code of conduct and ethics matters;reorganization approval and affiliate transactions;sector restructuring and open access implementation, the "smart grid", and microgrids;performance metrics; and,rulemakings and legislation.
*The Illinois Supreme Court does not recognize certifications of specialties in the practice of law and no award or recognition is a requirement to practice law in Illinois.
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In recent times, Nigerians have been made to undergo inhumane treatments outside their country. The rate at which Nigerians are losing their lives outside their country is becoming high and alarming. Nigerians risk their lives to leave their country all in search of greener pastures, every year thousands of Africans including Nigerians struggle to cross the Mediterranean sea into Europe and a lot of them lose their lives in the process. Currently, Nigerians are amongst the migrants captured on that route being sold into slavery.
Slave trade spans many cultures, nationalities, and religions from ancient times to the present day. Slavery became common in much of Europe during the Dark Ages and it continued into the Middle Ages. The Dutch, French, Spanish, Portuguese, British, Arabs and a number of West African kingdoms played a prominent role in the Atlantic slavery.
Although slavery is no longer legal and has hardly practiced anywhere in the world, human trafficking remains an international problem and an estimated 25-40 million people are enslaved today, the majority in Asia.
Currently, Libya is trending for the slave trade. Libya works by preying on the tens of thousands of vulnerable people who risk everything to get to Libya's coast and then across the Mediterranean into Europe a route that's been described as the deadliest route on earth.
The refugees are usually from several African countries and they say they have fled war, poverty, and unemployment in their countries. It is sad that Nigerians are caught in this web as well.
When will the Nigerian government stand up for its citizens being molested outside the country? Recently some Nigerians with fake refugee claims were rejected in Canada yet Nigeria rejected them as well. As much as some Nigerians are to blame for giving in to desperation and taking extreme measures, the Nigerian government should be kind enough to fight for its citizens in the diaspora.
Remember the 26 Nigerian women who died while trying to cross the Mediterranean sea? some of them were found sexually molested while some were even pregnant. In recent findings in Libya, lots of Nigerian migrants are being sold into slavery and brutality, and a Nigerian slave is said to cost 145,000 naira.
Celebrities including Chris Brown, Snoop Dogg, and Tuface Idibia have spoken up on this brutality going on in Libya. The Nigerian government is being implored especially to send aids and protect Nigerians in Libya and in the diaspora as well.


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PepsiCo calls on technology to conserve water in snack food production
PepsiCo has bold sustainability goals to help protect and conserve global water supplies, especially in water-stressed areas, and partner to provide access to safe water.
Procter & Gamble pours cold water on consumer laundry behavior
Procter & Gamble's goal is to have 70% of all machine wash loads use cold water by 2020 and to conserve water.
Puma aims high with water targets
Water use and management is high on Puma's Materiality Matrix, along with the recognition that the greatest environmental impact is from raw material manufacturing and the supply chain.
Stella Artois wants you to buy a lady a drink in support of water charity
750 million people around the world have no access to clean water. It's a crisis that disproportionately affects women, many of whom walk for hours every day to collect water for their family.
Unilever reduces water use in its operations but consumer behavior challenge remains
By increasing efficiencies throughout its supply chain, Unilever has reduced water abstraction in its global operations by 32% per tonne of production since 2008.
Using gravity to deliver sustainable success in irrigation
Highlighting how low-tech innovations can be just as important as their high-tech counterparts, Israel agriculture systems developer Netafim has created an irrigation system that uses no electricity but is still capable of delivering a smart-drip irrigation system.
Veolia offers editorial inspiration with #LivingCircular
#LivingCircular is an online resource by French multinational, Veolia, which aims to provide inspiration and to share ideas on sustainable models for future growth. Veolia's work - in water, waste, energy and transport - faces a range of sustainability challenges, so this platform offers a space to share ideas and highlight some success stories.
Veolia shows how it resources the world
Veolia has been involved in water, energy and waste for 160 years. In recent years, the French transnational corporation has been keen to demonstrate its sustainability credentials, however.
Want to end desertification? Meet me at the Groassis
Desertification and the degradation of land is a huge sustainability issue, especially when considering that a loss of arable land makes it harder to grow food for an expanding population.
What's the story behind bottled water?
The Story of Bottled Water, released on March 22, 2010 (World Water Day), uses an eight-minute video to tell the story of how we got to a position where people are willing to pay for bottled water, when they have a virtually free supply in their kitchen tap.


Thandie Newton was a sensation in John Duigan's Flirting, but the recent Cambridge University graduate has more up her sleeve than meets the eye. In her only Australian interview, Newton talked to PAUL FISCHER about the transition from anthropologist to movie star, which turns out not to be that great a jump.
Beverly Hills' Four Seasons Hotel is poles away from Thandie Newton's London. The beautiful, self-assured actress who made a name for herself in John Duigan's bittersweet comedy Flirting, recently reunited with the Australian director in that droll comedy set in the theatre, The Leading Man, in which she played an actress involved with the manipulative goings-on of an American movie star (Jon Bon Jovi). "It's a very sweet film, much lighter than what I tend to do." Her main reason for having done the movie, she says, "was because John [Duigan] asked me to, and I liked the humour and sense of irony in the piece." As for working with hunky pop star Bon Jovi, "I knew nothing about his music before we worked together. My friends were of course jealous. He's a very intuitive and intelligent actor who was a joy to share a bed with", the actress replies laughingly.
"He would have been a great movie star."
That was followed by Gridlock'd which is also screening at the upcoming Melbourne Film Festival. In Gridlock'd in which Newton plays a drug addict, the late rap star Tupak Shakur also stars. "He worked so hard on that movie. He would have been a great movie star."
Gridlock'd, which casts her opposite the late rapper-turned-actor Tupac Shakur, and the extraordinary Tim Roth, is a black comedy satirising the depths of bureaucracy gone mad and revolves around Stretch (Roth) and Spoon (Shakur), two drug addicts who decide to go clean after a friend of theirs, Cookie (Newton) goes into a drug-induced coma. They encounter bureaucratic red tape, however, trying to get into a detox program and return to their drug dealer. During one of their visits to the dealer, though, they find that a local thug, D-Reper (Vondie Curtis-Hall, who also wrote and directed the film) and his henchman have killed the dealer. Realising that Stretch and Spoon have taken some of "their drugs," D-Reper and his henchman try to kill the two. The police believe that the two are responsible for the murder. Thus Stretch and Spoon must avoid the thugs and the police as they try to enter the detox program. "It's as much a love story between these three characters, and what they go through each other." Thandie jokingly adds "that it was such an easy job for me: I didn't have to do an American accent and spent much of the film in a coma."
"I've never really experienced racial hassle."
This classically beautiful (and Cambridge-educated) British/Zimbabwean actress won critical kudos for her film debut, "Flirting" (1990), John Duigan's sequel to his acclaimed "The Year My Voice Broke". Portraying an Ugandan student at a stuffy boarding school for girls in 1960s Australia, Newton was cast as a character who aroused controversy by falling in love with the protagonist, a white student (played by Noah Taylor) from a nearby boys' school. Born in Zambia but raised (due to political unrest) in her father's hometown of Penzance, England, Newton began studying dance and acting at age 11 as a student at the UK's Arts Educational School. Unlike her "Flirting" screen character, Newton was never singled out due to her race, and was never subject to racial attacks. "When we moved to England, there were very few black people in the town. We were almost a novelty. It was an opportunity for the neighbours to tell others: I met an African girl, how exotic! I always saw being black as something very useful, a mysterious element I could use to enrich my personality. Then I went into the arts, where difference is celebrated. So I've never really experienced racial hassle."
After "Flirting", Newton chose to concentrate on her studies, majoring in social anthropology at Cambridge. "I was grateful for the opportunity to do Flirting, but at the time I didn't consider myself to be an actress. In fact, this notion of being GIVEN something which altered your life socompletely, never sat well with me." Yet, even at university, Newton continued to act just the same. Between exams, she maintained a busy film career, appearing in "The Young Americans" (1993), a crime drama starring Harvey Keitel, and Neil Jordan's blockbuster horror outing "Interview With the Vampire" (1994), as a sultry Creole maid who becomes Brad Pitt's first victim. 1995 brought additional exposure when Newton was cast in the Merchant-Ivory production "Jefferson in Paris", playing a slave and supposed mistress of future president Thomas Jefferson (Nick Nolte).
"The projects I was most interested in had been inspired by my knowledge through anthropology."
After completing this role, Newton returned to Cambridge to finish her degree and it was at this point that Newton thought more seriously of embarking on a full-time acting career. "It suddenly occurred to me that the Anthropology that I was studying was the perfect complement to my career as an actress, because one of my papers was The European Expansion Throughout the New World dealing with slavery. So here I was doing a paper on something that I was exploring on film in "Jefferson in Paris". How interesting was it therefore to flesh out these rather dry, clinical and historical tones than to actually experience the life. As 'Jefferson' progressed, I suddenly realised that the projects I was most interested in had been inspired by my knowledge through anthropology."
Her first post-graduate project was another slavery film, "The Journey of August King" (1995), as a runaway slave in 1815 protected by landowner Jason Patric, and again directed by John Duigan. That was followed by Anna Campion's mystery thriller "Loaded" (filmed in 1993, released in the US in 1996 but still not released in Australia)), with Newton as one of a group of tragedy-prone high school graduates.
"I want to do stuff that will educate me for myself."
Newton admits that it's not the acting that excites her. "It's the final product that gets me in. I want to do stuff that will educate me for myself." She's next set to star alongside Oprah Winfrey and Danny Glover in "Beloved" based on the acclaimed novel by Toni Morrison. From anthropologist to actress may seem quite a leap - but apparently not.


Arguably the best birding spot in Cape Town, Strandfontein Sewage Works is a must-visit site. The focused birder could notch up 100 species in a day, but the relatively small area also lends itself to a quick "whip-around" for the more time-strapped. Located on the north-western edge of False Bay it can be a little tricky to find if you're not familiar with the area. The map below gives you a basic idea of how to get there.
The network of roads around the sewage works can be a litte confusing so I've highlighted the route that I like to drive. Beware of some of the sand roads that hug Baden Powell Drive in the south. It's easy to get stuck here and there's also a Kelp Gull nesting colony that must be avoided.
I spent an hour birding at Strandfontein on Saturday evening last week and notched up 40 species without too much effort. The birding is sometimes dependent on the water levels – bird numbers can be significantly higher when the levels are low with exposed mud and roosting islands. I didn't explore every pan, but there didn't appear to be too much exposed mud around. Pan S3, which is completely overgrown with hyacinth, does have a small exposed area (see bottom right photo) at the moment where there was a collection of waterfowl and Great White Pelicans. My favourite shot for the evening was this African Marsh Harrier – it's not the best of images, but the sea in the background with the pan and reedbed is so distinctly Strandfontein.
The highlight of the visit was certainly the 8 African Openbills that were feeding along the Zeekoevlei entrance road [read here for details], but a close second was watching a Purple Heron swallow a large Vlei rat [read here for details].
Non-birders find it hard to believe me that there are flamingoes in Cape Town, but Strandfontein is a very reliable spot for Greater Flamingo and although rare, Lessers have been recorded as well.
My list for the evening included: Pied Crow, Red-winged Starling, African Openbill, Fan-tailed Cisticola, White-breasted Cormorant, Black-headed Heron, Barn Swallow, White-throated Swallow, Speckled Pigeon, Cape Teal, Red-billed Teal, Cape Shovellor, Little Grebe, Blacksmith Plover, Great White Pelican, Purple Heron, Kelp Gull, Hartlaub's Gull, African Darter, Swift Tern, Great Flamingo, African Marsh Harrier, Spur-winged Goose, Cattle Egret, Common Moorhen, Red-knobbed Coot, Glossy Ibis, Black-winged Stilt, Grey Heron, Cape Wagtail, Cape Robin Chat, Common Starling, Yellow-billed Duck, Purple Swamphen, Levaillant's Cisticola, Little Rush Warbler, Lesser Swamp Warbler, Cape Francolin, Helmeted Guineafowl, Cape Bulbul, Reed Cormorant.
My plan is to slowly update this post with each visit to Strandfontein. Feel free to add notes about recent sightings in the comments section below.
I am visiting CT and would like to go birding at Strandfontein Sew' Works. I am free from Sunday 4th to Wed 7th March 2012. I have the use of a car. Would you kindly advise me if you know of someone who could do some birding with me there. I am 60yrs old and have birded for 22 yrs.


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Of Sea and Cloud
by Jon Keller
Nicolas Graves raised his sons to be lobstermen. Bill and Joshua (known as Jonah) Graves grew up aboard their father's boat--the Cinderella--learning the rules and rites of the antiquated business they love. But when their father is lost at sea and the price of lobster crashes worldwide, Bill and Jonah must decide how much they are willing to risk for their family legacy.
Standing against them is Osmond Raymond--former Calvinist minister, mystic, captain of the Sanctity, and their father's business partner for more than twenty years. Together with his grandson and heir, Julius, Osmond is determined to push the Graves family out of their lobster pound, regardless of the cost or the consequences.
Praise for Of Sea and Cloud
"A gorgeously written exploration of faith and loyalty, love and dishonesty... I will never forget these characters, these waters, or the harrowing dramas unfolded upon and beneath them." --Anthony Doerr, author of All The Light We Cannot See
"Exquisitely well-written, relentlessly compelling, this story of fathers and sons and lovers, of love and greed and betrayal, elevates the desperate lives of lobstermen into Shakespearean tragedy. This novel set its hooks quickly, and held me rapt until the brutal, beautiful, end. Of Sea and Cloud is timeless drama of the highest order, both thrilling and wise, and Jon Keller is an extraordinary new voice in fiction." --Alan Heathcock, award-winning author of Volt
"...dark, poetic, and at turns terrifying. Set against the harsh Maine coast, it tells the story of a people inextricably connected to their land, and of what happens when that land is threatened. Ultimately, this is a novel about love in all its forms and failures." --Abi Maxwell, author of Lake People
"A bleak and beautiful story of a family of fog-shrouded lobstermen caught in the heavy vice of change, told in a voice that is part Dennis Lehane, part Melville, part Homer, and all Jon Keller. The book's dark mystic, Osmond Randolph, will haunt me for weeks to come." --Christian Kiefer, author of The Infinite Tides
"Of Sea and Cloud is a remarkable read, a first novel that captures a blood and breath drama that is both gripping and evocative." --Debra Magpie Earling, author of Perma Red
"With measured and powerful prose, Jon Keller writes a timeless story of manhood, loss, and the bonds of family." --Chris Offutt, author of No Heroes: A Memoir of Coming Home
"...a bone-chilling story of brotherhood, trust, and betrayal. It belongs in the canon of great American maritime novels alongside Hemingway and Melville." --Tyler McMahon, author of How the Mistakes Were Made and Kilometer 99
This item is available only to U.S. billing addresses.
Of Sea and Cloud (Hardcover)
Publisher: Gallery Books $24.99 13 copies from $3.43
More About Of Sea and Cloud by Jon Keller
Publisher: Gallery Books
Dimensions: 8.28 x 6.4 x 0.81 inches
Family Life - General


Come enjoy wine, companionship and fun as you explore your artistic side. The instructor will take you through some drawing activities that are guaranteed to loosen you up and awaken the right side of your brain. Get past the stress of making a drawing come out "right" and rediscover the joy of drawing as play. Each workshop will have different activities, so feel free to sign up for more than one!
Purchase wine or beer from our bar. If you bring your own, we will provide the accoutrements.
For ages 21 and up.


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Warrior Competition 2018 Day 2 event Gut Check Route KASOTC Amman Jordan
May 1, 2018, day 2 for Army Recognition online Defense and Security magazine at the Warrior Competition 2018 in KASOTC, King Abdullah II Special Operations Training Center. Every day, Army Recognition editorial team publishes latest news and full video coverage about day events of the Warrior Competition 2018. Two events were held today, the Gut Check Route and The Pipe Hitter.
Read full news about the Warrior Competition 2018 KASOTC at this link https://www.armyrecognition.com/warri...
Warrior Competition 2018 Day 2 event Pipe Hitter at KASOTC in Amman Jordan
May 1, 2018, day 2 for Army Recognition online Defense and Security magazine at the Warrior Competition 2018 in KASOTC, King Abdullah II Special Operations Training Center. Every day, Army Recognition editorial team publishes latest news and full video coverage about day events of the Warrior Competition 2018. Second day event for the competitors at the Warrior Competition 2018, The Pipe Hitter.
The Newest Russian Rehearsal Of Victory Day Parade 2018.
Odo Puiu info
Odo Puiu Info invites you to watch ….
Beginning in December 2017, preparations for the parade were well attended at the unit level. Individual unit practices were held in the various military installations for all the participating units in the national and local parades. Unit practices within Moscow Oblast itself started in early March in the Alabino field and other locations before the full blown parade practice run-throughs for all the participating units will commence later in the month.
All parade practice runs began on 24 March 2018 in the Alabino training range with the first practice run through for the ground column, kicking off the 2-month long national preparations for the 72nd Victory Day, and will last even until the middle of April when the runs on Red Square for the national parade itself will start, ending with a final general combined practice run of the parade in early May in the morning. From the 1st week up to the 3rd week of April, the Alabino military training center serves as the parade training ground for the estimated 14,000 military personnel in attendance for the Moscow parade, plus more than 135 vehicles and 78 aircraft. The air flypast column began their training flights on 9 April 2018.
Mobile Column ………
• T-34/85 medium tank
• GAZ-2975 "Tigr" infantry mobility vehicle
• Kornet D/EM mobile ATGM system on the GAZ Tigr chassis
• Typhoon-K MRAP
• Ural Typhoon MRAP
• BTR-82AM APC
• BMPT Terminator
• BMP-3 (27th Independent Guards "Sevastopol" Motorized Rifle Brigade)
• BMP Kurganets-25 APV and IFV (27th Independent Guards "Sevastopol" Motorized Rifle Brigade)
• T-72B3M (T-72B4) modernized main battle tank
• T-14 main battle tank (2nd Guards "Tamanskaya" Motorized Rifle Division)
• BMD-4M air-droppable IFV
• BTR-MDM "Rakushka" APC
• 2S19 Msta-S tracked self-propelled howitzer (147th Guards "Simferopol" Self-Propelled Artillery Regiment)
• 2S35 Koalitsiya-SV tracked self-propelled howitzer (147th Guards "Simferopol" Self-Propelled Artillery Regiment)
• BM-30 Smerch mobile MRL system (112th Guards "Novorossiysk" MRL Brigade)
• 9K720 Iskander mobile tactical ballistic missile system (112th Guards "Novorossiysk" MRL Brigade)
• Tor-M2U SAM complex on tracked chassis
• Buk-M2 mobile tracked SAM system
• Tor-M2DT and Pantsir-SA towed Arctic SAM system on tracked Vityaz chassis (80th Independent (Arctic) Motor Rifle Brigade)
• Pantsir-S1 mobile SAM system on wheeled chassis (93rd Guards Anti-Aircraft Rocket Regiment)
• S-400 mobile SAM system on self-propelled wheeled MAZ-7910 chassis (93rd Guards Anti-Aircraft Rocket Regiment)
• RS-24 Yars road-mobile ICBM system (54th Guards Rocket Division)
• BTR Bumerang APC
Air Fly Past Column ……..
• 1 Mil Mi-26
• 4 Mil Mi-8
• 4 Kamov Ka-52
• 1 Tupolev Tu-160
• 4 Tupolev Tu-22M3
• 1 Antonov An-124
• 3 Ilyushin Il-76
• 3 Tupolev Tu-95
• 1 Ilyushin Il-78 and 1 Tupolev Tu-160
• 4 Yakovlev Yak-130
• 4 Sukhoi Su-24M
• 4 Sukhoi Su-34
• 4 Mikoyan MiG-31
• 2 Sukhoi Su-57 (first apperance)
• Sukhoi Su-27 and Mikoyan MiG-29 of the Russian Knights and Strizhi
For more videos, subscribe to the https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKAD...
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Announcing AAD 2018: Africa Aerospace and Defence exhibition in South Africa
The Africa Aerospace and Defence (AAD) is Africa's only aerospace and defence expo that combines both a trade exhibition and an air show. Held biennially in the City of Tshwane – South Africa's administrative capital, the AAD Expo is one of South Africa's largest contributors to the country's GDP in show years, and is regarded as a national asset. AAD 2018 will be held from the 19 to 23 September 2018 at Air Force Base Waterkloof Centurion, City of Tshwane, South Africa.
Read more about AAD 2018 at this link http://www.aadexpo.co.za/
Defense Web TV
Online military magazine for defence and security industry Worldwide Defense & Security News Marketing and advertising for Defense & Security Industry and Exhibition Land Forces equipment, weapons and vehicles
Contact email:marketing@armyrecognition.com
Warrior Competition 2018 Day 3 event The Great Escape KASOTC Amman Jordan
May 2, 2018, day 2 for Army Recognition online Defense and Security magazine at the Warrior Competition 2018 in KASOTC, King Abdullah II Special Operations Training Center. Every day, Army Recognition editorial team publishes latest news and full video coverage about day events of the Warrior Competition 2018. One of the 2 events for today is the Great Escape.
Read more news about the Warrior Competition 2018 KASOTC at this link https://www.armyrecognition.com/warri...
U.S. Marines Shoot The M38 Designated Marksman Rifle
U.S. Marines with 2nd Marine Division, shoot M38 Squad Designated Marksmanship Rifles on a live-fire range at Camp Lejeune, Stone Bay Rifle Range on May 1, 2018.
Film Credits: U.S. Marine Corps Video by Cpl. Melanye Martinez
Centennial Minute: Sports at Fort Benning
The first 100 years of Fort Benning history are presented in this series as part of the Centennial Celebration. #Benning100
Centennial Minute: The 24th Infantry Regiment
Centennial Minute: Fort Benning & Columbus, Post WWI
Centennial Minute: End of WWI
US MILITARY UNVEILS EXPERIMENTAL HERF GUN THAT CAN IMMOBILIZE CARS, BOATS || WARTHOG 2018
The Defense Department's Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Program has demonstrated the Radio Frequency Vehicle Stopper, an experimental "direct energy weapon" that causes car and boats' electronic engine control units to enter into an endless cycle of rebooting, immobilizing the vehicles until the weapon is switched off.
https://boingboing.net/2018/04/30/zap...
ARMY SHOULDER-FIRED WEAPONS SAID TOO POWERFUL TO SHOOT SAFELY || WARTHOG 2018
Some of the Army's shoulder-fired weapons are said to be too powerful to be shot safely, with experts believing military personnel could be damaging their brains every time they pull the trigger.
By Zoe Papadakis
https://www.newsmax.com/thewire/army-...
HOW THE U.S. ARMY AND MARINES ARE PREPARING FOR FUTURE URBAN WARS || WARTHOG 2018
Because battles in the future could be brought right outside your door.
By Olivia Miltner
https://www.ozy.com/fast-forward/how-...
Warrior Competition 2018 Day 3 event McQuade at KASOTC in Amman Jordan
May 2, 2018, day 3 for Army Recognition online Defense and Security magazine at the Warrior Competition 2018 in KASOTC, King Abdullah II Special Operations Training Center. Every day, Army Recognition editorial team publishes latest news and full video coverage about day events of the Warrior Competition 2018. Second day event for the competitors at the Warrior Competition 2018, McQuade.
Warrior Competition 2018 Day 4 event House of Terror at KASOTC in Amman Jordan
May 3, 2018, day 4 for Army Recognition online Defense and Security magazine at the Warrior Competition 2018 at the KASOTC, King Abdullah II Special Operations Training Center. As international defense and security magazine, we cover also military events as the Warrior Competition 2018 with news and video report about that type of event. Second day event for the competitors at the Warrior Competition 2018 is the House of Terror.
2018 World Military Strength Rankings
https://www.globalfirepower.com/index.asp
Warrior Competition 2018 Day 4 event Time's Up at KASOTC in Amman Jordan
May 3 2018, day 4 for Army Recognition online military magazine with its Online Defense and Security Web TV at the Warrior Competition 2018 in KASOTC, King Abdullah II Special Operations Training Center. There is two events today, the Time's Up and the House of terror.
HEY, MARINES. RUSSIAN GRUNTS GET NEW ASSAULT RIFLES, TOO || WARTHOG 2018
As the U.S. Marine Corps works to procure new Heckler & Koch M27 rifles for their infantry, Russian soldiers are taking on their own assault rifle acquisition process.
The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed in January that it plans to field the AK-12 and AK-15 assault rifles for service, which shoot 5.45×39 mm and 7.62×39 mm cartridges, respectively.
By: Kyle Rempfer
https://www.militarytimes.com/off-dut...
Donald Trump says he could launch a SPACE FORCE alongside other branches of the military to fight extraterrestrial wars
Trump made claims in a speech to the Black Knights US army football team
Supremacy in space appears to be an increasing priority for superpowers
Russia and China are already developing weapons that can strike satellites
US space weapons include the X-37B spacecraft and hypersonic missiles
Congress floated the idea of a 'Space Corps' modelled after the Marines
This was rejected in December 2017 over fears of funding shortages
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-5690651/Donald-Trump-says-launch-SPACE-FORCE-fight-extraterrestrial-wars.html#ixzz5EeX4SC7Q
RUSSIA JUST MIGHT HAVE THE PERFECT WEAPON TO CRUSH 'SWARM' ATTACKS || WARTHOG 2018
Early in the morning of January 6, Russian radars stationed around Latakia, Syria detected no less than thirteen kamikaze drones approaching. Ten of the explosive-laden unmanned vehicles streaked towards Hmeimim airbase, while three others swooped towards the Russian naval base at Tartus. Just a week earlier, Hmeimim had sustained a mortar attack that killed two personnel and likely damaged several aircraft.
By: Sebastien Roblin
Earning The Kukri: Learning To Use The Iconic Gurkha Weapon | Forces TV
For the past 11 weeks, Gurkha training riflemen in Catterick have been confined to the barracks (bar for their one culture lesson beyond the wire) but this week the class of 2018 successfully 'passed off the square'.
Reporter: Hannah King
The Fundamentals Of Soldiering: Attacking A Mock Enemy | Forces TV
Reservist soldiers from 2nd Battalion The Royal Irish Regiment have been assaulting a mock enemy stronghold in Cyprus. It was the culmination of two weeks exercise on Lion Star.
WASHINGTON TO TURKEY - S-400 IS NOT NATO COMPATIBLE || WARTHOG 2018
Being a NATO member apparently means you can only buy arms and military hardware that the US-led bloc approves. At least, that's what the State Department said in its latest warning to Ankara over an S-400 air-defense system deal.
https://www.rt.com/news/425803-us-rus...
26th Marine Expeditionary Unit • Have Gun Will Travel
U.S. Marines under the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (26thMEU) travel aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima (LHD-7) to the U.S. 5th Fleet Area of Responsibility and conduct training operations to stay ready for combat operations.
Film Credits: U.S. Marine Corps Video by Sgt. Sylvia L. Tapia - Released
Accouncing IDEX 2019: International Defense Exhibition Abu Dhabi UAE United Arab Emirates
IDEX 2019 will be held 17 to 21 February 2019 at ADNEC in Abu Dhabi. IDEX is the only international defence exhibition and conference in the MENA region demonstrating the latest technology across land, sea and air sectors of defence. It is a unique platform to establish and strengthen relationships with government departments, businesses and armed forces throughout the region. Army Recognition the only Official Online Show Daily News for IDEX 2018 with editorial and Web Television.
Marketing and advertising for Defense & Security Industry and Exhibition Land Forces equipment, weapons and vehicles http://www.armyrecognition.com
email:marketing@armyrecognition.com
Warrior Competition 2018 King's Challenge KASOTC Amman Jordan Special Forces
Warrior Competition 2018 King's Challenge KASOTC Special Forces Amman Jordan
MILITARY HOUSE HUNTING IN JAPAN?!
This video I go through some of the basics of finding a house while you are in Japan. This can change from one location to the next and over time as well. I am hoping to show the good quality you can find from military housing.
MARINES REORGANIZE INFANTRY FOR HIGH-TECH WAR: FEWER RIFLEMEN, MORE DRONES || WARTHOG 2018
"Everything that Marine wears -- from their boots to their socks to their utilities to their helmet -- is all going to be changed," the Commandant said. "We've got money now to do that, and so we've got to make it happen now. We've got to make it happen now, because I'm not going to make the assumption that that money's going to be there."
By SYDNEY J. FREEDBERG JR.
https://breakingdefense.com/2018/05/m...
Iran vs Israel Part-1 : Infantry Tech Comparison ( Youtube TV ✔ )
Infantry Tech Comparison of the Iranian and Israeli militaries ( יִשְׂרָאֵל /إِسْرَائِيل vs ایران ) for ( Youtube TV ✔ )
SOFEX 2018 opening ceremony Special Forces Exhibition Amman live demo Jordan armed forces
May 8, 2018 opening of SOFEX 2018, the International Special Operations Forces Exhibition and Conference which takes place in Amman from the 8 to 10 May 2018. During the opening ceremony, the Special Forces Units of the Jordanian armed forces have performed a live demonstration with troops and combat helicopters.
U.S. Army Helicopters Drop Infantry Troops On LZ
U.S. Army, New York Army National Guard, Bravo Company, 3rd Battalion, 126th Aviation Regiment participate in Operation Americal Fury with the 1st Battalion, 182nd Infantry Regiment at Camp Edwards, Joint Base Cape Cod, MA on May 4, 2018.
Film Credits: SSgt Thomas Swanson
Legendary Range 400 Kicks Ass • Makes Marines More Lethal
Range 400 at Twentynine Palms is a live-fire training range known for it's intensity and adversity. New U.S. Marine Corps Infantry units must complete this difficult team-trial before being certified to go to war. Filmed May 2018.
Film Credits: Video by Lance Cpl. Jeremiah Naranjo
RUSSIA LEARNED NOTHING IN AFGHANISTAN. NEITHER DID AMERICA || WARTHOG 2018
The echo of the Soviet War in Afghanistan remains sadly relevant.
http://nationalinterest.org/feature/r...
Looking East: Militancy and Insecurity in DRCs Kivus and Ituri
Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo's (DRC) Kivus and Ituri are seeing resurgences of violence, with new militant coalitions being formed and dormant conflicts seemingly re-igniting. Jordan Anderson discusses the risk of a new rebellion in the east, and what insecurity could mean for DRC's scheduled elections
Special Forces Amphibious Training, Okinawa 1957 US Army; Green Beret UDT Underwater Demolition Team
'From Okinawa comes a dramatic episode from the daily intensive training of soldiers assigned to the Army's Special Forces. It is a unique operation in amphibious training for a demolition team of Army frogmen. Included in this sequence is a parachute rescue at sea...'
From "The Big Picture" episode TV-372, Pictorial Report No. 29.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special...)
The United States Army Special Forces, colloquially known as the Green Berets due to their distinctive service headgear, are a special operations force tasked with five primary missions: unconventional warfare (the original and most important mission of Special Forces), foreign internal defense, special reconnaissance, direct action, and counter-terrorism. The first two emphasize language, cultural, and training skills in working with foreign troops. Other duties include combat search and rescue (CSAR), counter-narcotics, counter-proliferation, hostage rescue, humanitarian assistance, humanitarian demining, information operations, peacekeeping, psychological operations, security assistance, and manhunts; other components of the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) or other U.S. government activities may also specialize in these secondary areas.[5] Many of their operational techniques are classified, but some nonfiction works and doctrinal manuals are available.
As special operations units, Special Forces are not necessarily under the command authority of the ground commanders in those countries. Instead, while in theater, SF units may report directly to a geographic combatant command, USSOCOM, or other command authorities. The Central Intelligence Agency's (CIA) highly secretive Special Activities Division (SAD) and more specifically its Special Operations Group (SOG) recruits from the Army's Special Forces. Joint CIA–Army Special Forces operations go back to the MACV-SOG branch during the Vietnam War. The cooperation still exists today and is seen in the War in Afghanistan...
Since their establishment in 1952, Special Forces soldiers have operated in Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, North Vietnam, Guatemala, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Colombia, Panama, Haiti, Somalia, Bosnia, Kosovo, 1st Gulf War, Afghanistan, Iraq, the Philippines, Syria, Niger and, in an FID role, East Africa...
TFR 104 Dealing with Parents and Military Service
Stew Smith http://stewsmithfitness.com and Jeff Nichols http://performancefirstus.com discuss how a young or old recruit needs to deal with parents who are 1) not accepting into military service, 2) overly involved in the process. Regardless your education and research on the process needs to go deep and you need to share that info with parents / others in your life as well.
Pentagon Research Chief Nominee: China, Russia Racing to Develop Next Generation Weapon Technology
https://news.usni.org/2018/05/11/pe...ing-develop-next-generation-weapon-technology
Report to Congress on Russian Compliance with the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty
https://news.usni.org/2018/05/11/re...ance-intermediate-range-nuclear-forces-treaty
HOW HOSPITAL CORPSMAN BECAME THE BEST JOB IN THE NAVY? (FUTURE CORPSMAN MUST WATCH)
This video I talk about the rise of hospital corpsman in their role in military. Also talk about where they have been recognized and what some of the basic expectations of corpsman can be.
THE REAL REASON PEOPLE HATE BEING IN THE MILITARY?!
This video I reflect on why people hate the military and what I have learned over the years. Also help understand realistic expectations and how to maintain a positive attitude while serving.
Mapping Erik Prince's Private Mercenary Empire
Authored by Ty Joplin via Albawaba.com,
Erik Prince is the modern architect of private military firms
His latest venture is in training security personnel in China
But he's been all over the world, outsourcing militaries to cheap labor markets
Al Bawaba has provided a partial map to track Erik Prince's activities over the years
Erik Prince, the brain behind the infamous private military firm Blackwater, is now in China training security forces.
Prince is partially responsible for modernizing the private army for the post 9/11 world, outsourcing militaries to cheap, specialized labor pools and skirting traditional regulations meant to ensure accountability for armed forces.
His journey from hiring mercenaries to help bolster the U.S. occupation in Iraq to China is long, dizzying and includes stops around the world to train Colombian mercenaries to help make a private army for the U.A.E. and outfitting crop duster planes with missiles to be fired at Armenians.
He has become a global figure, roaming between conflicts zones to sell various governments his expertise on private armies.
To document his journey thus far, Al Bawaba has compiled a partial list of countries/regions in or for which he has done business.
Prince's trip around the world starts in the United States.
Born in an affluent Michigan family, his family maintained deep ties to the Republican establishment and several conservative, religious organizations like American Values. His sister, Betsy DeVos, married into one of the most influence political families in the Midwest, the DeVos's, and began helping to run the Republican party machine in Michigan.
That marriage, which tied the Prince and DeVos family together, has given Erik unprecedented political access into the federal government. His list of close allies including Steve Bannon, U.S. President Donald Trump's former chief strategist. His sister gives him a direct line of access to Trump himself.
Erik became a Navy SEAL and then established his own private military firm in 1997, Blackwater.
Once the U.S. invaded Iraq in 2003, Blackwater received billions in contracts from the U.S. government to help supplement the official mission with private boots on the ground, relatively free from accountability or laws from any particular government.
Damaged and bloodied car in Nissour Square, Iraq, 2007 after the Blackwater massacre (AFP/FILE)
Blackwater's activities in Iraq are infamous and account for Prince's self-imposed exile from the United States.
Apart from harassing Iraqi civilians and running them off of roads with their armored personnel carriers, they also indiscriminately gunned down 14 innocent people in Baghdad in 2007, drawing an investigation and heavy criticism from media outlets around the world.
The incident stands as a cautionary tale for when mercenary groups such as Blackwater are able to operate without sufficient legal or logistical oversight. Facing a wave of scrutiny, Prince left Blackwater and the firm changed its name twice (to Xe and then Academi) to escape the heat.
Many thought they had seen the end of Erik Prince, but he resurfaced later at the helm of a different private military company.
A satellite image of the camp in the U.A.E. built to train Prince's 800-member mercenary battalion (Google Earth/New York Times)
In 2011, Erik Prince was appointed by the crown prince of Abu Dhabi to make a secret, private army. For this, he was paid $529 million.
In documents obtained by the New York Times, the mission of this privately commissioned battalion included "intelligence gathering, urban combat, the securing of nuclear and radioactive materials, humanitarian missions and special operations 'to destroy enemy personnel and equipment,' and crown-control.
Prince hired Colombians and nationals of other countries thousands of miles away to fill his ranks from two reasons. First, Prince was looking to pay them as little as possible. Second, they weren't Muslims. Prince surmised that Muslims could not be trusted to kill other Muslims.
A few years later in 2015, Saudi Arabia began its military intervention in Yemen and recruited a host of other Arab nations to join its coalition.
Abu Dhabi's crown prince, business partner to Erik Prince, Sheik Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, signed up for the cause in order to destroy any creeping Iranian influence in the war-torn nation.
Erik Prince and his U.A.E. private military firm helped recruit and train over 1,000 soldiers from Latin American countries. Then, their bodies started appearing on battlefields in Yemen.
A single missile reportedly killed 45 mercenaries from the U.A.E.
Prince's initial battalion of 800 soldiers had blossomed into almost 2,000 specialized troops hired mostly from Latin America to do the U.A.E.'s business.
Although officials say Erik Prince's formal business role with the U.A.E. had ended several years before the intervention into Yemen, his corporate blueprint to partially outsource the U.A.E.'s military is doubtlessly still in use.
The U.A.E. keeping and even expanding Prince's blueprint for a private, outsourced army demonstrates just how influencial he and his mercenary business model has become.
A militarily-modified crop duster, called the T-Bird (LASA Engineering)
After his stint in the U.A.E., Prince began doing more business with Chinese executives at the Frontier Services Group (FSG), which he heads.
On this new enterprise, Prince said it "is not a patriotic endeavor," rather, it is intended "to build a great business and make some money doing it."
Interestingly enough, Prince's business with FSG took him to Azerbaijan, where he was paid by the government to help it deal with its Armenian problem. Armenians are concentrated into Azerbaijan's Nagorno-Karabakh region, which seceded from Azerbaijan and formed a semi-recognized, de facto state.
Azerbaijan called on Erik Prince and FSG to help it keep watch on the Nagorno-Karabakh region, also called the Republic of Artsakh. In response. Prince wanted to show the government two crop duster planes meant for agricultural use but refitted for military purposes. The planes were meant to be outfitted with state-of-the-art surveillance technology and were supposedly able to fire missiles.
They never made it to Azerbaijan after an investigation shut the sale down.
This is because the deal may have broken several laws. The Washington Post found that "executives were concerned that the company might be skirting U.S. law — known as International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) — requiring Americans to obtain special permits before defense-related technology can be transferred to foreign countries."
In response to this controversial arms trade, all but two Americans on the FSG executive board quit due to concerns that he was not serving U.S. interests. This has freed Prince to deal more closely with the Chinese.
FSG's 'focus region' (Frontier Services Group)
FSG's public focus is on providing security and logistical help to eastern African countries such as South Sudan, Kenya, Somalia and the DRC.
"When you want logistics done in Africa, you call DHL," said Sean McFate, a former military contractor in Africa and current expert on mercenaries at the Atlantic Council. "When you want muscle, you call Erik Prince."
One of FSG's ventures appears to help oust the extremist militant group, Al Shabaab, from southwest Somalia—an area it has largely controlled for years. "We have brought together strong international business leaders to team-up with talented Somali entrepreneurs to make development in South West Somalia a reality," an FSG statement reads.
"The project will include an integrated solution of air-land-sea logistics capabilities and advanced security management."
FSG's headquarters is in Hong Kong, and though it publicly states that its focus is on eastern Africa, FSG is now reported to be doing domestic work on behalf of the Chinese government.
FSG is partially owned by CITIC, a Chinese-government own investment firm. CITIC is slowly taking more and more control of FSG and is reportedly already the dominant shareholder, meaning it has greater power than Prince to determine the company's vision and business deals.
"The Chinese are gradually taking more control" of the company. CITIC is now playing a larger role as Frontier's dominant shareholder, said Xin who heads the International Security Defense College that trains security personnel and is overseen by FSG.
"Prince's share is decreasing. The Chinese are in charge, so it won't matter."
One of FSG's most recent missions has been to train thousands of security personnel in China's northwest Xinjiang province, where millions of ethnically Turkic Muslims called Uyghurs live.
Uyghurs are routinely targeted by the state due to continuous attempts by some to break away from China and form an independent state.
Thousands of Uyghurs are part of an extremist group called the Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP), whose leaders are hiding in Pakistan and whose members have a heavy presence in Syria fighting against the Syrian regime.
Human Rights Watch accused the Chinese government of "deploying a predictive policing program," using massive surveillance technology and a web of high-tech surveillance cameras and compulsory data collection.
They've also reportedly sent thousands of Uyghurs to Chinese 're-education' camps.
The Mercenary Prince
Erik Prince (AFP/FILE)
This list only details a few of Erik Prince's ventures, and does not include an attempt by Prince to send thousands of mercenaries into Afghanistan and reform the political structure of the entire country to essentially be a colony for the United States.
However, Prince has transformed battlefields everywhere and fundamentally altered the way governments construct security apparatuses.
Iran is heavily reliant on outsourced Afghani mercenaries to be cannon fodder in the war in Syria. Russia is supplementing its own intervention into Syria with mercenaries hired by the state-backed Wagner Group who also sends troops to Ukraine. To beat back the nascent extremist group Boko Haram, Nigeria hired private, Apartheid-era security forces from South Africa to do the job.
Thanks to Erik Prince, outsourcing military and intelligence labor is now the norm.
Currently Prince appears to be under investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, thanks to meetings he had arranged with a close aide to Russia's President Vladimir Putin, Kirill Dmitriev in the Seychelles Islands, a place its own government explains is "the kind of place where you can have a good time away from the media." The meeting was allegedley to set up a backchannel between Trump and Russia in order to facilitate clandestine communications.
McFate told Al Bawaba that Prince's use of mercenaries allows countries to enter into and escalate conflicts without having to report it to their citizens; his tactic gives governments "plausible deniability" to anything that the mercenaries do.
According to Dr. P.J. Brendese, a professor at Johns Hopkins University and expert on democratic accountability, private military firms "have greater independence to exercise their own prerogatives and 'we the people' don't get a say. That's the most dangerous thing, because they're profiting--their motivation is not God and country; their motive is money."
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-05-11/mapping-erik-princes-private-mercenary-empire


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Let us coordinate our efforts in the Americas so that the countries can ensure food security for their populations within the current context, while recognizing and applauding all those who are working so that food continues to reach our tables.
Analysis of post covid-19 scenarios
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Nicaraguan cooperative of female coffee growers offers new opportunities to its members with the support of PROCAGICA
With the support of the Central American Program for Comprehensive Management of Coffee Leaf Rust, the European Union and IICA, the Manantial de Virtudes cooperative gained access to inputs, capital and capacity building for its members.
IICA radio program, AgroEnlace, cements its role as a valuable information resource for small farmers in the Americas during the pandemic
It was aired by 928 stations in more than 50 countries in 2020 and more than 1,150 new subscribers registered to its digital platforms.
Countries of the Americas recommend timely actions to improve transparency in agricultural trade
IICA presented recommendations from almost all its member countries at a virtual meeting with the authorities of the Committee on Agriculture of the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Feeding all of humanity and guaranteeing the prosperity of those who produce: the great challenges facing tomorrow's agriculture
The members of the Advisory Council for Food Security in the Americas, the Goodwill Ambassadors and the Director General of IICA discussed the future of agriculture and rurality. They also shared their views regarding the global health crisis.
The international food trade and food security go hand in hand
Gloria Abraham, Chair of the WTO agricultural trade negotiations and former minister of Agriculture and Livestock of Costa Rica, spoke with the Director General of IICA about the global food trade and is impact on the availability of food.
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Thankyou for all your condolences and best wishes. Each day does get a little better no one can prepare you for the loss of a mum even though she was 80 was unexpected.
Petra What a lovely song i like a lot of greek songs thankyou very much.
To Artisans.... Well done.... please get a decent/funny/DIFFERENT nom de plume. You can't spend all your lives being straight-laced on the Forum.