text:
Wink, wink
What are the chances of a thorough police investigation into the killing of political activists? It would depend on how the Arroyo regime defines, and how the police interprets, "thorough," certain words–practically the entire English language, in fact–having been so debased by every Philippine government since Marcos they've lost their original meaning.
By universal agreement among English-language users and dictionary makers, "thorough" means "systematic," "complete," and "detailed." These meanings imply that any "thorough" investigation would use methodical, logical, rational, even scientific means to get at the truth.
But getting at the truth and being thorough at it also implies being "scrupulous," not only in the sense of "careful," but also in the sense of "impartial" and "unbiased" as well as "fair". To be all these a "thorough investigation" must be supervised by impartial and fair professionals endowed with methodical skill.
No one would deny except the police themselves that, except for extremely rare instances, the police are neither professional nor even specially skilled. Let's not even get into the issue of how the police– as the US State Department, Amnesty International and even the government's own Commission on Human Rights agree– torture crime suspects and beat confessions out of them.
It is not professional dedication but political expediency that drives the police hierarchy when addressing issues regarded as controversial in this country. This was evident, for example, in its effort to make it appear that over half of 79 cases of murdered journalists has been solved.
Those who cite the fact that only in three cases has anyone been tried for these killings are blandly told that suspects have been identified, and theories advanced as to motives in 45 cases—a statement that in effect redefines the meaning of "solved," which, any standard dictionary would tell us, means "uncovered," "found," "explained" with finality.
In criminal cases, "solved" also means that suspects have been apprehended, tried, and punished. Why this linguistic atrocity is being perpetrated not only on adults but also on children the government wants to be proficient in English is clear enough: it is to deny that the police has been less than thorough and even biased (some of those involved are policemen and local officials) in looking for the killers of journalists. But it is also meant to acquit the Arroyo regime of the charge, which has reached as far as the US Congress, that it isn't doing anything about the killings.
But the larger context is the continuing crisis of Mrs. Arroyo's legitimacy. Regime performance in the human rights arena, particularly in how it has harassed the press, and dealt with the killing of activists and journalists can have an impact on that crisis. But Filipinos should not think that what they believe matters more to the regime than what the international community (read: the United States) believes.
Over the last several weeks international human rights organizations have been commenting on the killing of activists and journalists, as well as on the regime's assault on human rights in general. But it is US reaction—expressed via the US media, US think tanks, and lately, even the US Congress (which has pointedly called on Mrs. Arroyo to do something about the killing of journalists)—that the regime regards as crucial, not only to US support for it, but even to its survival.
It was in an obvious attempt to placate US critics that the Philippine National Police issued the spurious claim that 45 murders of journalists have been solved. This is the same sorry context in which Mrs. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has ordered a "thorough" investigation of the killing of political activists.
How impartial the investigation would be could already be gleaned from the statements of one of the designated members of the task force Interior and Local Governments Secretary Ronaldo Puno created last week. PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group head Chief Superintendent Jesus Versoza thus initially offered, not solutions, but a so-called "analysis" of the killings from 2001 onwards, with a likely focus on "motives."
Police analyses aren't worth the paper they're written on. It's not only because of the obvious limits of the analytical capacities of their authors. It is also because they're made to order to please superiors. We can thus expect little from that promise beyond the usual.
But Versoza also left little to the imagination as to what the motives behind the killings could be. During the press conference called by Puno last week, Versoza advanced two theories: that it was the militants who were killing each other, and that, despite the fact that all 42 of those killed from 2001 were members of militant groups, the killings could have been motivated by "personal" grudges. Completely missing from Versoza's short list was the possibility that the killings are part of a government campaign to physically eliminate members and leaders of leftist groups.
Naturally. Linguistic subterfuges aside, it was the Arroyo regime that last week ordered itself to investigate itself. The principal suspects in the killings are military elements who are unlikely to be committing the killings without a policy decision from the highest levels of government. Thus did Mrs. Arroyo order her own police to do a "thorough" investigation—wink, wink—on the understanding—wink, wink—that "thorough" would not only mean getting itself off the hook, but even implicating the militant groups in the killing of its own members and leaders. Wink, wink.
What's obvious even to the blind at this point is that only an investigation by an impartial group can be "thorough" enough to get at the truth rather than conceal it. None of the regime agencies, least of all its police, is in that category.
The regime personified
A "constitutional" coup


text:
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class Verify {
	private $db;

	public function __construct(){
		$this->initializeDB();
	}

	public function __set($p, $v){
		$this->{$p} = $v;
	}

	public function __get($p){
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		$this->db = $wbsm['connection'];
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		return true; // For testing purposes only!
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


England skipper Terry left the Emirates Stadium on crutches, after being forced off in Chelsea´s 1-0 defeat by Arsenal on Sunday following a challenge by Emmanuel Eboue.
"Scans today have revealed that John Terry has fractured three bones in his right foot, including his third metatarsal," said a Chelsea statement on the club´s official website, www.chelseafc.com. "The initial diagnosis suggests he may be out for six weeks."


text:
Police investigating string of suspicious fires in Waterloo
Published Wednesday, October 28, 2020 6:29PM EDT Last Updated Thursday, October 29, 2020 6:58AM EDT
KITCHENER -- Waterloo regional police are investigating a series of suspicious fires in the past month.
They're reporting a total of six fires in Waterloo since the beginning of October. The Waterloo Fire Department and the Ontario Fire Marshal are also investigating the fires.
Here are the dates and locations of the fires:
Oct. 3 around 2:55 a.m. at Erb Street West
Oct. 10 around midnight at Amos Avenue
Oct. 15 around midnight at Regina Street
Oct. 20 around 9 a.m. at Columbia Street West
Oct. 26 around 6:50 a.m. at Lester Street
Oct. 27 around 2:10 p.m. at Northfield Drive
Officials say the fire at Amos Avenue started at one home and spread to another. The Northfield Drive fire involved a trailer, and the fires on Columbia Street West and Lester Street were in garages.
Police are working to determine if the fires were deliberately set.
Investigators are still looking into the total damage.
Anyone with information on the fires is asked to contact police or Crime Stoppers.
Officials also say anyone who witnesses suspicious activity should call police immediately.
A file image of a Waterloo Regional Police car.
No one hurt in Waterloo house fire that caused $800K in damage
CTV News Kitchener at Six for Tuesday, January 19, 2021
Lost teen builds snow cave to survive
Chief Chat: Enforcing lockdown measures
One hospitalized after crash on Highway 85
Police search for three suspects in Oxford County bank robbery

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Now 23, Hines is trying to do just that. Still being treated for bipolar disorder, he has joined with mental health advocates and the families of suicide victims to speak to young people about depression and to campaign for a barrier on the bridge. Officials stopped publicizing figures in 1995, when the number hit 997, but concede the landmark attracts about one jumper every two weeks—making it one of the world's leading suicide locations. "When people with depression get to an impulsive end stage," says psychologist Dan Riedenberg, who heads a Minneapolis-based suicide prevention and education group, "the bridge is simply too accessible." Hines says even a small fence might have changed his mind, and Jenni Olsen, producer of a 2005 documentary about bridge suicides, agrees. "If it is a little more difficult, it would cause people to think," she says.


text:
Brixton Byways: 6. Men of Might
They Might or they Might Not: but hopefully all will be revealed as we continue to lay bare Brixton Chess Club's early history. Last time we featured John Sargent and his 28 moves of fame in 1891, and in this episode we continue through the final decade of the 19th century, at the end of which our time-line will more or less hit the buffers - but leaving a few tasty bits left to savour for a few episodes beyond.
So far we have watched Endeavour CC gradually evolve into Brixton CC; noted, in spite of a murmuring of nay-sayers, the let's-just-get-on-with-it birth of the Surrey County Chess Association; and the emergence, after a more protracted gestation, of the London League (about which there is still a bit more to say). We have also plotted the progressive migration, ever further south, of Brixton CC HQ eventually to the Bon Marché Restaurant, at 240-250 Ferndale Road around 1890; and also identified a surprising number chess associations in the Brixton area apart from Endeavour/Brixton, including one other (the Effra Chess Club) that, curiously, shared a few years earlier the very same venue as Brixton CC at 322 Brixton Road.
In this episode we will continue to mine this rich - and sometimes confused - seam of chess club history as we dig deep into the 1890s.
Confused and confusing, not simply because of the mystery of "Effra CC " in 1889 (as we noted the end of episode 4), but also because of references to a "North Brixton" chess club in 1893 - the BCM gives two results for it in what appear to be local friendlies, duffing up Balham 7 v 2, and St. Paul's (Brixton, not Cathedral [from episode 3, and see note]) 8 v 0. Brixton CC proper was still then at its Bon Marché rooms, generously proportioned enough to host another simul by Henry Bird (he was living at nearby Upper Tooting at the time) over 16 boards losing to Messrs Britten, Neville and Weston, and drawing another two (London Standard 21 February 1893), and prestigious enough, one could imagine, to encourage the club to ask the Marquess of Carmarthen, the local Member of Parliament (Conservative) to honour it again as Club President (BCM).
Also known as George Osborne (yep) (1862-1927) the Marquess was to inherit his father's title as 10th Duke of Leeds causing his elevation to the Upper Chamber in 1895. The seat, covering North Brixton and parts of Stockwell, was to remain Tory (though the Liberals won it for a few years in 1906) up to the Labour landslide of 1945. It is now, in 2014, reorganised into the Vauxhall constituency and is solidly Labour. Times have changed.
The number of speeches in the House by the Marquess of Carmarthen during his tenure of the Brixton seat? None. (As recorded by Hansard.) A Man who Might, but Didn't.
The "Vice-commodore", aka 10th Duke of Leeds,
aka Marquess of Carmarthen, aka George Godolphin Osborne,
aka President of Brixton Chess Club.
From Vanity Fair 1906, by "Spry", aka Leslie Ward (from here)
The Marquess was supplanted as President in 1894 - a year of change for the Club, as we see in this report in November's BCM:
"North Brixton and Brixton Chess Clubs have united forces, the latter name being retained. The season of the united clubs was opened on 1st October by the AGM, which was well attended. Dr. R. Dunstan was elected as President for the year."
And it also moved to "new and convenient quarters" (The Chess Monthly November 1894; this also made it to the Morning Post 8 October 94) a hundred yards further south: at 502a Brixton Road, at the Brixton Conservatoire of Music run under the disciplined baton of Miss Stocken, Directress, and Fritz Hartvigson, President (Kelly's). Thus we have segued to Brixton HQ #5. The building was later to be used as a Bank (again, according Kelly's). Today there are flats with a 502 address, and a bank at street level with number 504.
They were up there, somewhere.
So, who was "North Brixton Chess Club", the other partner in the amalgamation? Perhaps the remnants of Excelsior from episode 3, or even the chess association at St. John's - it is not clear. Dr Dunstan, on the other hand, is better documented: in Surrey County matches and moving on to nearby Nightingale Lane Club sometime before 1901 (of which more when we get onto Sir Wyke Bayliss), and then to Plymouth as Devon Champion in 1911 and 1921.
Charles Vincent was now (we are still in 1894) Brixton Club Secretary, as shown by a piece in the BCM, although it reports not so much the goings-on in the club, as the Surrey County Chess Association, to which we now briefly turn our attention.
H. J. Osborne and Charles Vincent from Brixton had been elected on to the SCCA committee at the 1893 AGM, with the ever-dependable Captain Beaumont (South Norwood) as President, and Harold Jacobs from Brixton now Treasurer. The old chess mags invariably give a report of these AGMs every October. It was sometimes a cursory note, but other times more fulsome, as in 1894 when, in what must have been a slow news month, we read that Charles Vincent disputed Harold Jacobs' Treasurer's report. He hadn't, said Vincent, made financial allowance for the replacement of the Challenge Cup which had been won outright and therefore had to be replaced. Good spot - in which he was supported by Mr Ward.
Controversy! Not of de Mooigate proportions admittedly; but Jacobs and Vincent were both from Brixton CC, (as was Mr Ward, and with friends like that, etc. etc). But: Order! Order! "Upon the opinion of the meeting being obtained, it was found to be antagonistical to [Mr Vincent's] view, and in this opinion the chairman fully concurred." said the BCM report (penned, as it happened, by the deft chairman of the meeting: L.P.Rees). Thus was the Treasurer vindicated, and Harold Jacobs would be re-elected as SCCA treasurer over the next two years. But perhaps our account is a little unfair to the vigilant Mr Vincent: as we shall see in the next episode, chess clubs hereabouts were about to be given good cause for concern over the financial shenanigans of their officers.
At the board Brixton players were regulars in the county team, and the usual suspects turn out with great regularity throughout the decade - See Appendix 1 - in we should note the appearance of G.A.Felce, prefiguring the Brixton and Surrey scene in the C20th between the wars when a Vincent, too, appears in the County year book as Brixton CC Secretary.
However the most eye-catching Brixton contribution to SCCA was that of Bentley McLeod, a survivor from the early Endeavour days, and a permanent feature of the County side. He was elected County President in 1895 and 1896 - providing a respite for the indestructible Captain Beaumont ("A soldier and a gentleman" said the BCM) who was able to say of himself, in 1901, that he had been President for 12 of the SCCA's 18 years.
Whatever the financial fixations of certain members of Brixton CC, others were definitely taking the game seriously - seeking advice and encouragement where they may, as witness this in the Standard chess column of 13 July 1896.
"The following interesting game occurred at the Brixton Chess Club between two members. It was sent to us by the winner, with the request to withhold the names, his only object being 'to see our remarks on the game.' "
Here it is - with the original notes (but algebraic notation used where necessary to activate the game-player).
Who was the self-effacing Mr G? Perhaps Mr. W. Grasty, who, writing from the club's address, appears in the "Answers to Correspondents" section of the chess column of the Morning Post on 3 July 1899. He had successfully solved its chess problem (if I have interpreted it correctly). Or maybe it was one of two Mr. Greens in the Brixton CC team lists. But we may never know who the "talented conductor" was.
The Club was to win the Surrey Trophy in 1896, and again in 98 and 99; and it was 1898 that was to be the club's annus mirabilus winning also the London League Division A. This was the season after it's promotion from Division B and the club began therefore with, by a rule of the time, a gratis one point head-start, and it was by this margin that Brixton sneaked ahead of Ludgate Circus (the previous season's winners) in the final table (see Appendix 2) to steal the trophy, as the clip below registers.
Brixton's name on the London League Trophy 1897-8 (and underneath, by coincidence, 1932-3)
(Pic kindly provided by Brian Smith, Secretary of the LL - for which thanks)
The culmination of Brixton's mighty effort to win the League was a narrow 11 v 9 victory over North London on the 29th March 1898, eternally inscribed in chess history by this epic poem by H. S. Swinburn Ward, which we give in full for your unalloyed pleasure.
Brixton v North London
Final Match in "A" Division, played March 29th.
'Oh! how our hearts were beating,' when, seated at each board,
We saw our rivals of the League, all met with one accord;
Behind embattled Pawns their Kings looked proudly o'er the field,
Foredoomed to death those Pawns - those Kings their royal crown to yield,
What though our gallant leader failed, as fail full well he might
Before a hero crowned with bays new won in cable fight,
Of all the other games that day our losses were but four,
And bravely did the Brixton tail contribute to the score.
Ho! players of the Circus! Ho! London 'West' and 'North';
Close, close your boards, disband your teams - the challenge cup bring forth;
Bring forth the cup that all may know the South has won the fight,
Then yield it up, a goblet meet for Brixton's men of might.
Ho! skilful clubmen of the League! Ho! problemists renowned!
See to it next year that you make your combinations sound;
The captured cup we'll strive to keep, yet deem our task not done
Till under one proud captain South London fight as one.
Then when North London gathers, where Atheneaum meets,
Where Ludgate, Ibis, and the "Met." perform their chessy feats,
Where the Spread Eagle screeches, where lofty towers crown
The peaks of smiling Sydenham, - where heights of Hampstead frown,
Yea! even at the "City," where Russell rules in fame,
Shall be great dread and fear wide-spread of Brixton's rising name.
The "cable fight" reference must be, I think, to the 3rd Anglo-American match by cable of March 18 (5.5 v 4.5 to Team GB) and to H.J Trenchard of North London CC (I think), who beat Galbreath of the USA (Herbert Jacobs also played,and won, in the same cable match, but he played in the LL for the City of London CC ). Otherwise there are several hints in this stirring piece that the Brixton team had in its ranks players from other Surrey clubs (Swinburn Ward himself was with South Norwood for Surrey chess purposes), and that some thought that Surrey might do better if all its clubs rallied under one flag in the London League as "London South".
H. S. Swinburn Ward in BCM 1901
A Man who Might, and Did
(and took on the bardic burden of this name )
The London League had, incidentally, adopted a new rule at the 10 May 1894 Annual Meeting: that...
"All League matches should be played at the rate of 24 moves per hour, and that any club may demand the use of clocks to be provided by the club making the demand...Clubs eligible [to play in the League - MS] should be that of the Metropolitan Police Area..."
...and in 1900 (BCM in October) there was a further development. A third Division had been added in 1897, but now there was the introduction of fourth "Early Hours" Division designed to cater for "those clubs connected with Banks, Insurance and Government Offices, and others, whose members wish to commence play early in the evening - at 6.00 pm", i.e. a more convenient time for those enjoying normal office hours (as we might call them). Teams included the London County Council, and the Local School Board. "The hour of play also suited the Ladies, (i.e. The Ladies Chess Club, to which we shall return - MS) and they have decided to compete in this Division". However, it would appear that this arrangement didn't survive for very long, being overtaken by an independent Civil Service and Municipal League in 1904. Another development had been the inauguration of an independent West End Business Houses League in January 1902, with such teams as "Kildare" and "Clarence" from Whiteleys and Maples stores respectively. This maybe a precursor to the modern-day, and now sadly shrunken, London Commercial League (inaugurated in 1924; you can see their history splendidly analysed here) one of the Leagues in which your blogger competes.
In that poetic year of 1898, or maybe later in 1899 (in view of the club address given by Mr Grasty when submitting his problem solution mentioned above) Brixton CC once again was on the move, if less than another quarter of a mile further south, and renewing its acquaintance with the Liberal Party, this time at Raleigh Hall, Saltoun Road/Effra Road (HQ #6).
Raleigh Hall in 1969
Pic courtesy of Landmark Lambeth, whose own caption reads:
"The former Liberal Club in Saltoun Road Brixton, was adapted from a pair of houses built c.1810. It became Brixton Chess Club from 1903-4 and then in 1914 the Brixton Christian Society."
This link shows it as the Brixton Liberal Club in 1885.
According to Kelly's the club was to remain there for a bit more than "1903-4", for much of the first decade of the C20th in fact, with what looks like a further removal in or around 1908/9 (according to Kelly's) to the Prince Regent Hotel, Dulwich Road, Herne Hill, with C.E.Vincent as Hon. Sec (and, as far as this series goes, that is the final HQ, #7).
The Prince Regent today
As we have now peeped into the new century we should just note that Brixton CC gave every sign of wishing to raise its game after a calamitous start, when they managed only 0.5 match points in Div A of the London League: Van Vliet was invited to the club to lecture on opening theory, and according to the BCM in 1901...
"...in his first address he laid stress on the importance of studying the openings, and gave some demonstrations of attack and defence, based on variations of the Max Lange Attack and the French Defence...[in] The second lecture...dealing with the Ruy Lopez...Mr. Van Vliet contended that to obtain an even game it is necessary to adopt Steinitz's move 3...P-Q3, or 3...P-QR3; and 4...Kt-KB3, followed by P-Q3 and P-QKt4, in reply to P-Q4, as played by Lasker against Janowski in Paris. Those who could not manage this kind of defence successfully he thought had better avoid the Lopez by means of the Petroff, Sicilian or French Defences."
Queen Victoria passed her 60th anniversary on the throne in 1897, which occasioned a look back over chess during her reign in a long review article in the BCM of July that year; and she died in 1901 prompting appropriate solemnities in the chess press - and that, with the ending unchessically before the opening (of the C19th and C20th, respectively) brings us to the conclusion of our self-imposed Brixton CC time-line.
In the next episode we will double back and have a look at Streatham Chess Club, the other half of S&BCC.
On St. Paul's Cathedral Chess Club/Team: The Chess Player's Chronicle gives a venue for this at Wardrobe Place, which was part of the Doctor's Commons, which cropped up in our Every Picture... series episode 7. Apparently these old civil law buildings were demolished in 1857, but the precinct seems to have been devoted to legal and other professions, although a GPO telecomms building arrived in the early C20th. It seems possible that the chess club/team was not connected with the Cathedral as such, except by proximity. I noticed that where team lists were occasionally given, on top board the team had a Tinsley.
Note added 11 July 2014: For more on the history of the London League see Tim Harding's excellent recent article.
Previous episodes: 1. Earnest Endeavours; 2. Peyers You Go; 3. Onwards And Upwards; 4. Regular Bricks; 5. Sargent Majors. History index
Thanks to James Toon for info on the Civil Service League, and Bill Linskey of the Brixton Society for the later Kelly's tips. Martin Cath, of South Norwood CC and the SCCA, has also been incredibly helpful with data on Brixton, and Streatham, CCs.
The 1894-6 period all of the following from Brixton CC appear for Surrey in county matches: C.Britten, Dr. Dunstan, G.A.Felce, J. A. Green, A. Howell, H.A. Jacobs, H. L. Jacobs, H. W.Johnson, R.A. Klein, A.Marfleet, B. McLeod, J. Sargent, R.A. Klein, T.C.Thatcher, C. A. Vincent. H.S.Ward, W. E. Vyse.
Final cross table of London League Division A, 1897-98
Martin Smith said...
Maybe not such a coincidence Richard, as I have recently been directing some inquiries in that direction on the subject of Dr.D. Perhaps he is emerging from obscurity at last.
Alas, no time to comment further as am in deepest Brittany and have other things on my mind!
Sat Jun 21, 04:27:00 pm 2014
Funny the piece should mention both George Osborne and Vanity Fair. Thackeray's novel of the same name has two George Osbornes in it and the second receives a chess set as a present.
Joe Skielnik said...
-Dec. 3 - Mr. Herbert Jacobs, a strong amateur from the Brixton Club and Surrey County champion played eighteen ladies simultaneously, winning 14, drawing 2, and losing 2.
http://www.chess.com/blog/batgirl/the-ladies-chess-club-early-years
Mon Jun 23, 08:16:00 am 2014
Thanks Joe. There'll be an episode in this series devoted to Herbert Jacobs coming along in a few weeks time.
ISEs: From the Books III
King Queen Zebra
Stop me if you've heard this one before
#chess180: Game On
ISEs: From the Books II
A morality play
A direct transposition
DG VIII: Celebrity
Ves and Vlad
Trust is not the word
Nette and Tom (and Diana Makes Three)
Research is vital
DG VII: Doctor Coyle
DG VI: Doctor Susan
ISEs: From the Books
Brixton Byways: 5. Sargent Majors
Unlearned journal
DG V: In the news
DG IV: After Six Years' Thought
Rook for Bishop


text:
Hugh Price
President, National Urban League
Race Initiative Panel; Charles Grodin
Entertainment, Politics, SocietyAir Date 06/16/1997
On President Clinton's race initiative with presidential consultant Chris Edley and others. Grodin on his switch from actor to CNBC talk show host.
Race Initiative Panel
Politics, SocietyAir Date 06/16/1997
A look at President Clinton's race initiative with consultant to President Clinton Chris Edley and others.
Civil Rights Panel; Stephen Covey
Books, Society, HistoryAir Date 01/15/1996
On MLK Jr. and the civil rights movement on what would have been his 67th birthday. Author of "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People."
Civil Rights Panel
Society, HistoryAir Date 01/15/1996
A conversation about Martin Luther King Jr. and the civil rights movement on what would have been his 67th birthday.
Million Man March; Harry Wu
World, Politics, SocietyAir Date 10/16/1995
A panel discussion on Louis Farrakhan's Million Man March; former political prisoner Harry Wu recounts his ordeal.
Million Man March
Representative Kweisi Mfume and others analyze Louis Farrakhan's Million Man March.
SocietyAir Date 08/10/1995
National Urban League president Hugh Price discusses socioeconomic inequities in America.
Teenage Smoking; Hugh Price; Edward Burns
Politics, HealthAir Date 08/10/1995
Joseph Califano and Philip Hilts on teenage smoking; Hugh Price from the Natl. Urban League; 'The Brothers McMullen."
Hugh Price, president of the National Urban League, talks about the inner cities in America.
George Soros; Hugh Price
World, Business, SocietyAir Date 08/02/1994
Financier George Soros on the economic state of Eastern Europe. Hugh Price, the president of the National Urban League, on American inner cities.
Jewell Jackson McCabe
Roger Wilkins
Erroll McDonald
Arnold Rampersad
Books, Sports, Health
Arnold Rampersad of Princeton on the book "Days of Grace," which he wrote with the late tennis player Arthur Ashe. 14:39
James Clavell
Author James Clavell shares his bestselling novel "Gai-Jin," the third book in his Asian Saga. 20:55


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text:
Crypto rapper Razzlekhan lands new tech job
Despite being under 25 years of house arrest for participating in the 2016 $4.5 billion Bitfinex hack, the 31-year-old Heather Morgan, also known as Razzlekhan and Crocodile of Wall Street, has reportedly landed a new job with an undisclosed tech firm.
According to a Bloomberg report, the magistrate judge granted Morgan's attorney's request to modify the terms of her house arrest so that she can use three working days, specifically from 10 a.m to 8:30 p.m at the New York office of the tech firm.
Heather Morgan will be working as a growth marketing and business development specialist. Her attorney Eugene Gorokhov also revealed that the judge granted its request for non-disclosure of firm details.
Although it's unclear if Morgan's episodes of borderline TikToks helped her close the deal, whichever way it is, the court believes that keeping things under wraps at this point is necessary to avoid harassment and disparaging social media comments.
Recall that the U.S. Justice Department charged Morgan and her husband Lichtenstein in February 2022 for orchestrating one of the largest hacks in the country's history, and Morgan was freed on a $3 million bond.
Lichtenstein is serving his 25-year-old jail term on conspiracy to commit money laundering charges. .
Fighting for a plea deal
Since March last year the couple has been trying to secure a plea deal, and the next court hearing is slated for this month.
Federal authorities initially opposed to Morgan's $3 million bail bond have also argued in court that the couple already has access to fraudulent travel documents and identities to aid their escape.
The authorities also revealed that before the covid 19 pandemic, the couple already had a contingency plan to relocate to Russia or Ukraine.
Razzlekhan
Huobi to cut 20% of its workfoce
Binance customer says money lost in P2P transfer
Binance partners with MasterCard in Brazil


For the last few years the sit and stand stroller has been a popular choice for parents who have 2 children of different ages and abilities. It's practical design makes use of the area at the back of stroller, offering a second seating option with a 3-point harness for an older child who may be able to walk on their own but not for long periods of time. It also has a platform that can be used as a board for your pre-schooler(up to 45lbs) to stand on while they ride along with you.
Baby Gear company Joovy has designed 4 strollers that offer the sit and stand feature. We recently had the opportunity to test out their popular Caboose Ultralight.
Installation: Setting up the stroller was fairly straight forward. While the front wheels and canopy were easy to pop on, the back wheels looked as though they may be a challenge. To make it easy, Joovy includes a manual that walks you through every step to ensure a successful installation.
Getting started is a breeze. To open the stroller all that is needed is to pull up on the handlebar. Once in place there is a lock mechanism on the left hand side to keep the frame in place while in use.
Because the Caboose Ultralight weighs just 21lbs, it pushes quite nicely. Like a standard travel system it has a full seat in the front complete with snack tray and a adjustable 5-point harness with an attachment to hold an infant car seat. With just the addition of this bracket (provided), most infant car seats that have a seat belt pass through can be placed in the front, making this stroller perfect from birth. New for 2010 Joovy has also added a third recline position for the front passenger. While its not a completely flat recline, it is more than enough for a younger child to sleep comfortably while out.
The Joovy Caboose Ultralight is smartly designed. The front of the stroller resembles a standard stroller, while the back makes room for an older child. They can choose to sit on the small bench if they are tired or stand if they just need a quick ride from one stop to another. Because my son is used to a double side by side, he wasn't quite sure what to make of the back seat at first. For me it was a bonus that my boys were back to back. As they get older shopping has become a bit of a challenge when they sit side by side because they fight. Having them back to back reduced that a bit and allowed me to have a good eye on what my older guy was up to.
A centrally positioned canopy ensures that both kids get good coverage. When the back seat is empty it can moved completely forward to fully shade the front passenger or just closed in the center position when out shopping. I actually use it to hold whatever I am buying when at the mall or market. The scoop that is created when it is half closed is great for holding onto little shirts and pants.
I also figured out that a standard grocery shopping basket can be placed in the back where the bench is if you are out for a quick grocery shop with just one child. My 'ah-ha' moment saved my shopping trip and allowed me to peruse the grocery store without having to balance the basket and push the stroller.
Also for your convenience Joovy has included their neoprene Parent Organizer with the Ultralight Caboose. This awesome handlebar storage unit gives you a place to store 2 sippy cups, your keys, cell phone and money. It fits snugly across the handlebars and is positioned perfectly for quick access.
The Joovy Caboose Ultralight($269) is a practical option for parents who are looking for something that will grow with their family for a reasonable price.
During our test we took the Caboose Ultralight everywhere (mall, park and market) and it performed well under all of the conditions. It will be great to take to the amusement parks this summer and would also be a great travel stroller as it folds up nicely and can be locked with a lever located on the side.


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Parks and playgrounds to close as Storm Ciara closes in on Louth
A close up image of the playground located at the Fair Green, Ardee. Photo Credit: Adrian Crawley.
Council run parks and playgrounds around Louth will be closed on Sunday due to a Status Orange wind warning which has been put in place for the county and nationwide by Met Éireann.
Coastal flood warnings for the Louth are also in place, in particular for Dundalk Bay. High tide is expected at 11.20am on Sunday.
Sand bags will be available at the Louth County Council machinery yard on the Ardee Road until 6pm on Saturday and then again from 8am to 4pm on Sunday. Sandbags will be delivered to Blackrock on Sunday morning, the local authority say.
Met Éireann say that Storm Ciara will produce very strong southwest winds on Sunday with mean speeds of 65 to 80km/h and gusts generally up to 130km/h. A combination of Spring tides and high seas as well as stormy conditions will result in a significant risk of coastal flooding
By Barry Landy
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Everyone's favorite super family is BACK!!
Being Different is good! Incredibles 2 suggests that the ways you are different from everyone else are what makes you special. Supers are different and to the Parr family, that makes them special. Violet learns that her powers make her special, not a freak. Being a teenager is difficult enough- being a "freak" teenager is even worse.
Shows us non-traditional roles and how to balance work and family: Incredibles 2 is all about the sacrifices parents make for their children. Elastagirl may be living her dream, but she is giving up being with her children everyday. On the other hand, Bob is adjusting to life as a stay-at-home dad, including learning "new math." Incredibles 2 is about the challenges facing men who are accustomed to being breadwinners when they're tasked with caregiving instead. It takes Bob awhile to keep up with Jack-Jack, but he manages without anyone getting hurt!
It's just funny! You have to watch the scene with Jack-Jack and the raccoon. We couldn't stop laughing! He does all this while Dad isn't watching, which makes it even funnier! Just the way he uses his powers, looks at Dad all serious and then cracks up laughing gets me every time! And, don't forget the scene where Edna thinks she's making baby sounds. To see all the funny moments, you have to watch it for yourself!
Love Printables? Be sure to check out all the printables on my previous post HERE.
Stay connected with Disney•Pixar's INCREDIBLES 2!
Don't miss this delicious Bao cake pop recipe!
Here are some brand new fun paper foldables your kids will love!


Specialized Manufacturing in St. Petersburg is rapidly growing, generating $843 million in annual exports and employing the second most manufacturing employees in the state of Florida. Electronics manufacturing and medical devices manufacturing are specifically concentrated in the City.
Jabil, electronics manufacturing firm headquartered in St. Petersburg, is the largest company in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metro area. Jabil serves its global clientele from its home in The Sunshine City like other high-growth manufacturing firms including Lantmannen Unibake, HT Global Circuits, and PlasmaTherm.
The Tampa-St. Petersburg region offers several workforce development assets including St. Petersburg College, Pinellas Technical College, the University of South Florida, and FloridaMakes.
Annual wages in specialized manufacturing are higher compared to the city's average wage and national average by subsector, which helps attract and retain top talent. Additionally, the Bay Area Manufacturers Association keeps local manufacturers competitive in the global market.
St. Petersburg is a Florida leader of bare printed circuit board manufacturing and semiconductor machinery manufacturing.


Led by groove, improv and raw, unadulterated emotion, Bradley/McGillivray blend blues, jazz, Motown and gospel into their own hip brand of soul. Ruth's a singer you don't want to miss-captivating, authentic and entertaining, with a wicked set of pipes. Her knock-you-flat vocals are nicely balanced by Sheldon's tasteful, understated guitar, and the whole sound is rounded out by an inventive rhythm section.


While sitting at lunch with her mother and her friend last month, the trio began talking about living conditions in India and the activities of Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation was mentioned. Munjal was intrigued. She discovered that learning is far from an innate right in these remote parts of India and that the foundation was working to bring holistic approaches to the area using education as its primary vehicle.
She chose to donate her savings, close to $5,000/- to the cause. "It felt good because I've wanted to donate my money to them for a long time," she said.
Lucknow chapter mahila samethi organized Ekal carnival for a day from 11:00 am to 9:00 pm. There were 35 stalls from lucknow, Kanpur and Allahabad.
The stalls were selling rakhi, saris, toys, jewellery and there were some food outlets too. Gramothan Sansathan Kendra's organic fertilizer and pure mustard oil were also sold. Competitions were held and the winners were given gifts.
After an effort of almost one year by Sri Brijbhushan Agarwal, trustee AFI and Sri Nalin Jain supported by Smt. Savita Agarwal and other members of FTS Bangalore, Bangalore Chapter of AFI was inaugurated. After introduction Sri Pawan Singhal described the activities of AFI at various parts of the country. He told about the just concluded pilot projects of anemia, taken up for over 20,000 anemic women.
On the occasion Sri K.M. Agarwal described the efforts made by the Delhi Chapter in supporting the Arogya Yojana plans in Rajasthan and U.P. He told about the Padamshree Madan Mohan Malviya Swasthya Seva Yatra taken up in East U.P. on 12th July in which 15000 patients were treated in 44 medical camps in a day in the villages spreading from Gorakhpur to Mirzapur. He told that Delhi Chapter supported the Yatra with about 2 lakh rupees of medicines.
Encouraged by the plans of AFI Sri Parasmal promised to contribute Rs.1 lakh, Sri Madhav Rs. 20,000 and Rajsons Pharmaceuticals Rs.20,000 to support it.
Ekal Abhiyan Trust (ABT) deliberated upon the draft Ekal Vision 2025, laying down the road map for next 10 years. The draft was approved, with some suggestions related to cautions to be exercised while implementing.
1. Strengthening organisation structure at grass root: The number of SVK in sanch of 30 villages would now be 3, instead of 1.
2. Teams at Anchal, Bhag, Sambhag and Central levels have been reorganised by reducing the number, realigning job responsibilities and avoiding using SVK for office work. The office workers would now be employees instead of SVK.
3. Training syllabus, frequency and levels would be reviewed in light of the restructuring, and with view of strengthening further.
4. Brand Ekal would be propagated.
5. CSR funds to be tapped and donor working to reorient to meet expectations of CSR and large donors.
6. Field Organisation, Gram Sanghthans (called SVO earlier) would be restructured by consolidating them from 41 present to 9 in number, on regional basis.
7. Detailed Job Responsibilities would be drawn for each level and position in organisation, so as to frame training plans and inculcate accountability.
8. Arogya and Gramothan projects would be provided added impetus and focus.
9. Working together with Govt. would be encouraged, by providing policy inputs and implementation support to Govt. programs in Ekal sectors and areas of operations.
10. Reaching target of 100k villages, while ensuring quality of services through reorganised structure.
Actions on above decisions have started by responsible persons/ groups. The above are for your kind information.
BLSP Prayag Chapter's concern for improving the quality of training Ekal Karyakarthas was evident when they participated in one of the training camp. They are not only part of improving the session's quality but were also taking motivational classes. The Karyakarthas found it very useful. The office bearers decided to continue this practice.
Smt. Manju Srivastava, President, Ekal Sansthan, was part of the panel discussion about 'Shiksha Aur Gaon' on 22nd July 2015 in DD Kisan Channel. She suggested 'Ekal formula' to resolve the problems of Teacher's absenteeism and non-cooperation of village folk who do not encourage their children to attend full school. Children go for other routine works to help family. Smt Srivastava shared the USP of Ekal: local teacher, local village committee participation and local ownership of Ekal Vidyalaya by Gram Samiti ensure success of Ekal Vidyalayas.
Ekal Abiyan is making inroads in the interior areas of Jirangloi, Orissa to spread the light of literacy, Skill Development and Empowerment through its Gramothan Resource Centre.
Smt Vandana from USA with her family visited kumhariya and govindpur villages under Mathura Anchal in Rajasthan on 3rd August.


LONG ISLAND CITY — A coyote wandered onto the roof of a Long Island City bar Monday morning and stayed there for more than an hour before it fled into an old paint factory, witnesses said.
Residents who live above LIC Bar, 45-58 Vernon Blvd., spotted the coyote on the roof and then texted owner Brian Porter to let him know the animal was up there.
"It got a little nervous and kind of hunkered down underneath my air conditioning unit," Porter said. "You could see that he was afraid."
Porter said the coyote likely got onto the roof through a broken window pane in the Paragon Paint factory behind his bar. He said he could tell it was well-fed because of its size.
"I've seen a number of coyotes. It's definitely one of the largest coyotes I've seen," Porter said. "It was a well-fed animal."
The LIC Post reported a veterinarian from Citi Vet climbed onto the roof to check to see if the animal was a dog or coyote, then retreated quickly when she saw the animal.
Police and animal control came with tranquilizer guns to capture the coyote, who jumped back through the paint factory window and escaped, Porter said. The animal had been on the roof for about an hour and a half, he said.
The NYPD did not have any information on the coyote. Animal Care and Control said they were sending a field officer to investigate the sightings.


Beans in pancakes? Sounds disgusting, doesn't it? I have to tell you, these are not disgusting at all. In fact, they are quite delicious! I'm not sure where I got this recipe, but it has become a family favorite.
The kids love this recipe because, well, what kid doesn't like pancakes? I love the recipe because I almost always have the ingredients in my pantry, and with the exception of the real maple syrup, this is a cheap meal to throw together.
The batter is easy to prepare, and it turns what I would typically view as a treat into a nutritious meal. The oats and beans provide plenty of protein and fiber. We top our pancakes with real maple syrup which is rich in mineral content and low on the glycemic index.
I will warn you that these are not light and fluffy pancakes; they are more dense than your average pancake. Don't let that scare you off! Give them a try! I'm sure you will like them.
The trickiest part of this recipe is getting the right consistency to the batter. The batter should be thin when you blend it because it will thicken up as it sits. If it's too thick, you end up with something resembling biscuits. If it's too thin, they'll be more like crepes. Play with it and you'll get it just right.
Add ingredients to blender in the order listed. Blend until well blended. Set aside to thicken while you heat the skillet to medium.
Cook on until golden brown, turning as needed.
These sound very interesting! I must try! Having a lot of gluten allergies in the family, I am always looking for new fast and healthy meal ideas that everyone can enjoy together!
Found your link on Real Food Wednesdays and was super intrigued by the "beancakes" part. So excited to try these out! If it's okay, I'm going to add the link to your recipe to my blog's recipe page. I think others would love to try this.
I love this idea! I just had my first baking success with beans (chocolate energy bars with black beans!) and I love the idea of including beans in more of my dishes. These look so good, I'd love to give them a try soon!
Thanks Hannah! I think baking with beans is brilliant! Unfortunately I think it bothers my littlest's stomach. 🙁 Otherwise, I'd bake with beans everyday!
I am SO glad I found your website! My daughter is allergic to dairy, eggs peanuts and treenuts (and she used to be allergic to wheat, barley and soy), and we've been cooking that way for 7 years or so. I have lots of go to recipes and we eat pretty well (probably better than otherwise) but I've been looking for a way to dress up our weekly pancakes. This recipe looks great, as does your whole site. Thanks!
Aww. Thanks Kim! I'm thrilled you found us too. If you ever want to share any of your favorite recipes let me know. I'm always looking for new ones.
I love that there is no egg; I don't always have any.
I have tried chickpeas. They were not as subtle as the navy beans but they were ok in a pinch. I have considered trying black or red when I haven't had navy on hand but I've never actually tried it. I imagine the red beans would make pink pancakes and taste just fine. My daughter has developed a sensitivity to legumes so I don't make these as much as I used to.
Those pancakes looks delicious, I will take a shot stack, please. Have a wonderful week end and thanks so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday.
Just made these this morning. At first they seemed too gooey- very different consistency when cooked from our standard gf pancakes. Put when we ate them we decided that we do like them… with maple syrup (i put cinnamon on mine as well, delicious). I will double the recipe next time as this time was a trial run. Oh and i used great northern beans and agave as i don't have any navy beans or honey. Nice quick simple recipe to mix up. Thanks!
So glad you liked them Dawn! I had some normal pancakes last week and realized I had forgotten how fluffy normal pancakes are! I should probably update my post to say that these are not fluffy. We really do enjoy them and I love that the beans and oats make a complete protein! Thanks so much for coming back to let me know you liked them. I really appreciate feedback.
Hmm. I hadn't thought of them being savory. If you try that please let me know how it turns out!
Thanks for this recipe. I was just thinking on what recipe I would use for my husband's gf pancakes for dinner tonight.
I actually just found out about this time-honored tradition last week. It is centuries old, mostly in Europe (particularly, British countries). In England, it's called Shrove Tuesday. It was a way for people to use up all the ingredients (like flour, sugar, etc.) before lent starts tomorrow. We don't practice lent, but I think it's a great little tradition to start tonight!
Thanks for the explanation Michelle. It actually makes sense!
Hi! Have you ever substituted anything for the oats? My kids and I can't tolerate even the gf ones. I wonder if I could get away with a gf all-purpose flour and either gluten substitute or xanthan gum.
I'm sorry Kristie, I have not. If you experiment let me know how it turns out!
I have! I think they freeze well.
I am so glad your daughter enjoyed the "beancakes"! I have not tried experimenting with this recipe, so I can't tell you how those substitutions would turn out. If you try them, please let me know how it goes.
Can you substitute the honey for anything?
I have used maple syrup and sucanat. They taste good but do not give the pancakes that golden color.
I made these this morning. They turned out fantastic!
Thanks for letting me know, Paula!
Thank you SO much for this recipe! It is amazing! We are actually making it with my sons preschool class this week (giving you credit, of course)! As it turns out, my son is allergic to oat so I have tried subbing quinoa flour and a little bit of coconut flour for the oat and it works well! I was also wondering about the fluffiness. We don't mind them not being fluffy but I'm wondering if adding baking soda or baking powder may help? Haven't tried it yet. Thanks again for a wonderful recipe that my family craves!!
That is wonderful! Feel free to play with the recipe but be careful as those ingredients can effect the taste.


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homeUS
Air Force Academy WILL allow cadet prayer on football field
by Gregory Tomlin | 29 December, 2015
(Courtesy Military Religious Freedom Foundation)A cartoon, published by the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, showing Air Force Academy cadets kneeling on prayer rugs while facing east. MRFF said the cartoon was intended to pose the question of whether the prayer would be allowed if it was conducted by Muslim cadets. According to the Air Force Academy, the answer to that question is "yes."
FORT WORTH, Texas (Christian Examiner) – When players with the U.S. Air Force Academy's Fighting Falcons football team take the field for the Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth, Texas, they will be free to take a knee and pray before the game, the Air Force Academy has ruled after an internal investigation prompted by a complaint from the Military Religious Freedom Foundation.
Earlier in December, MRFF President Mikey Weinstein, an Air Force Academy alumnus and former military lawyer, called the practice of cadets assuming a posture of prayer on one knee a "disgrace" and a "putrid example of fundamentalist Christian supremacy, triumphalism and exceptionalism."
On Wednesday, Dec. 23, the Air Force Academy issued a statement that said the academy places "a high value on the rights of its members to observe the tenets of their respective religion or to observe no religion at all."
"Recently the United States Air Force Academy received a complaint about its football players kneeling in prayer. An inquiry was initiated, which found the football player's actions to be consistent with Air Force Instruction 1-1 and its guidance on the free exercise of religion and religious accommodation. The United States Air Force Academy will continue to reaffirm to cadets that all Airmen are free to practice the religion of their choice or subscribe to no religious belief at all. The players may confidently practice their own beliefs without pressure to participate in the practices of others."
"Since before the founding of our nation, our military commanders have gone to great lengths to ensure that our service members are able to practice their faith freely, without fear of reprisal or harassment. Similarly, federal courts have repeatedly emphasized that service members do not forfeit their religious freedom upon joining the military. And Congress recently enacted several important laws that protect religious freedom in the military. Those laws are now reflected in military regulations."
- Attorney Mike Berry, Liberty Institute
Weinstein, however, rejects the official Department of Defense agency's interpretation of its own military regulations. In a statement Dec. 28, Weinstein said the academy's "internal review of this matter is a pathetic sham and transparent farce of the highest order."
"Let us not forget that it was hardly a respected, deconflicted and disinterested third party entity or outside agency that inquired into MRFF's charges against the Academy of unlawful, orchestrated, Christian-sectarian team praying by its football players," Weinstein said.
He added that an internal review – in which the Air Force Academy was allowed to "investigate itself" – was the equivalent of allowing Pol Pot to investigate the atrocities of the Khmer Rouge killing fields or Bernie Madoff to investigate Ponzi schemes.
On Dec. 28, Liberty Institute attorney Mike Berry, himself a former active-duty U.S. Marine Corps JAG officer, wrote in an editorial that "anti-religion activist" Weinstein is once again wrong about how military servicemen and women may exercise their religious beliefs, or lack thereof.
"To its credit," Berry wrote, "the Air Force Academy has not resorted to the sort of knee-jerk response Weinstein seeks. Instead of issuing a unilateral ban on prayer, as MRFF requested, the academy wisely referred the matter to the proper legal entities for review."
"While the academy did the right thing by taking the matter under consideration, it does not change the fact that this is the latest in a long line of MRFF's attacks on military service members of faith," Berry wrote.
Berry cited what he called the MRFF's long record of attacks on Christians in the military, such as calls to court martial chaplains for conducting Christian activities and Christian officers for speaking the name of Jesus while in uniform – the equivalent of "spiritual rape," or forcing their religious views on subordinates. He claimed such attacks are wrong and without support historically and legally.
"Since before the founding of our nation, our military commanders have gone to great lengths to ensure that our service members are able to practice their faith freely, without fear of reprisal or harassment. Similarly, federal courts have repeatedly emphasized that service members do not forfeit their religious freedom upon joining the military. And Congress recently enacted several important laws that protect religious freedom in the military. Those laws are now reflected in military regulations," Berry wrote.
Republican Colorado Congressman Doug Lamborn also chastised MRFF for playing the part of the "Grinch" at Christmastime and trying to "trample religious freedom and liberty in our community."
Prayers of Air Force football team called 'scandalous outrage'
Activist: Chaplain's prayer at historic ceremony of women Army Rangers 'defiant' and 'criminal'
Air Force general threatened with court martial cleared of violations
Activist demands court martial for Christian Air Force general
Georgia Air Force Base reverses ban on, 'Have a blessed day'
Military banned from saying, 'Have a blessed day'
Christian school's ROTC under attack
Lamborn said removing the right for the players to pray voluntarily before a game would be a "deeply disturbing and un-American precedent to set."
"Instead of condemning a peaceful action taken by 95 percent of a particular group, people should focus their energies on the real problems facing our nation. And let us resolve in this new year to relegate the attention seekers and their exaggerated problems to the sideline where they belong," Lamborn wrote.
On Dec. 28, MRFF published a cartoon showing Air Force Academy cadets kneeling on prayer rugs while facing east. The cartoon was complete with the caption, "A little prayer before the game." MRFF said the cartoon was intended to pose the question of whether the prayer would be allowed if it was conducted by Muslim cadets.


"Christ is not only the object of faith and his glorious appearing the pole star of hope but he is also united to believers now in the bonds of mystic union. And they are united to him. Because Christ is united to believers, he is in them in the life they now live upon earth — he is formed in them the hope of glory. And because believers are now united to Christ, they are in him in the glory of his exalted state — their life is hid with Christ in God. Christ is with them where they are; they are with him where he is. A great mystery, beyond doubt. But this is what is true of Christ and his church." (John Murray, "Structural Strands in New Testament Eschatology." Unpublished manuscript, Westminster Theological Seminary Library, Philadelphia).
This entry was posted in Trinity Presbyterian Church of the OPC on March 30, 2019 by John Mahaffy.


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dBTechnologies Names Giovanni Barbieri General Manager
FOH Staff • On the Move • November 7, 2019
On The Move – sponsored by
(Pic, from left: Giovanni Barbieri, Arturo Vicari)
BOLOGNA, Italy — Giovanni Barbieri takes on the role of General Manager of Italian pro audio manufacturer dBTechnologies, the Bologna based company part of RCF Group.
Giovanni Barbieri joined dBTechnologies' sales force as Export Sales Manager in 2009. In 2011 he became Business Development Manager and since 2012 he has served as Sales and Marketing Director in a company that in the last 10 years has more than tripled its revenues and widespread distribution of its products internationally, reaching by now over 160 countries worldwide.
The new appointment was announced by the CEO of dBTechnologies and RCF Group, Arturo Vicari: "The group is expanding, we have several interesting projects to carry out and it is natural to consolidate the organization of a company that in recent years has shown not only to create quality products, but also to be able to propose and distribute them to an increasing number of users." Vicari explains. "Over the years Giovanni Barbieri has demonstrated many qualities, first of all the ability to transmit to the market who we are and what we can do. This makes him the most suitable person to represent dBTechnologies, taking on the role of General Manager".
"I was welcomed into this family in 2009." Claims Barbieri "At the time, dBTechnologies was a smaller company, both in terms of turnover and workforce. Over the years I have had the opportunity to meet and grow together with people who represent excellence, both from a professional and personal point of view. And this is true for every single department of the company." He continues: "What we have achieved and will achieve is mainly thanks to the team we have built, which lays the ground for other challenges and further growth. For this reason I am honoured with this new assignment and I would like to thank Mr. Vicari and the entire dBTechnologies team for the work they have done so far and for the work we are going to do from now on."
For more info, visit: dbtechnologies.com


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Data types are forking and splintering out as fast as lightening.
Data is a thorny subject. For a start, we're not sure how we are supposed to refer to it, that is - data is the plural of datum. Strictly speaking we should talk about data that 'are' not 'is' available to support a theory etc. The Guardian newspaper discussed the debate here and appeared to suggest that (split infinitives and nuances of idiomatic Latin notwithstanding) our day-to-day usage of the term is allowed to remained conveniently grammatically incorrect.
"For what it's worth, I can confidently say that this will probably be the only time I ever write the word 'datum' in a [blog] post. Data as a plural term may be the proper usage, but language evolves and we want to write in terms that everyone understands - and that don't seem ridiculous," wrote Simon Rogers, in 2012, before moving to his position as data editor at Google.
So of the many different instances of individual datum (sorry, data) that exist, can we group them into distinct types, categories, varieties and classifications? In this world of so-called digital transformation and cloud computing that drives our always-on über-connected lifestyles, surely it would be useful to understand the what, when, where and why of data on our journey to then starting to appreciate the how factor.
A core favorite, big data has arisen to be defined as something like: that amount of data that will not practically fit into a standard (relational) database for analysis and processing caused by the huge volumes of information being created by human and machine-generated processes.
"While definitions of 'big data' may differ slightly, at the root of each are very large, diverse data sets that include structured, semi-structured and unstructured data, from different sources and in different volumes, from terabytes to zettabytes. It's about data sets so large and diverse that it's difficult, if not impossible, for traditional relational databases to capture, manage, and process them with low-latency," said Rob Thomas, general manager for IBM Analytics.
Thomas suggests that big data is a big deal because it's the fuel that drives things like machine learning, which form the building blocks of artificial intelligence (AI). He says that by digging into (and analyzing) big data, people are able to discover patterns to better understand why things happened. They can also then use AI to predict how they may happen in the future and prescribe strategic directions based on these insights.
All data has structure of some sort. Delineating between structured and unstructured data comes down to whether the data has a pre-defined data model and whether it's organized in a pre-defined way.
Mat Keep is senior director of products and solutions at MongoDB. Keep explains that, in the past, data structures were pretty simple and often known ahead of data model design -- and so data was typically stored in the tabular row and column format of relational databases.
"However, the advance of modern web, mobile, social, AI, and IoT apps, coupled with modern object-oriented programming, break that paradigm. The data describing an entity (i.e. a customer, product, connected asset) is managed in code as complete objects, containing deeply nested elements. The structure of those objects can vary (polymorphism) – i.e. some customers have a social media profile that is tracked, and some don't. And, with agile development methodologies, data structures also change rapidly as new application features are built," said Keep.
As a result of all this polymorphism today, many software developers are looking towards more flexible alternatives to relational databases to accommodate data of any structure.
Time-stamped data is a dataset which has a concept of time ordering defining the sequence that each data point was either captured (event time) or collected (processed time).
"This type of data is typically used when collecting behavioral data (for example, user actions on a website) and thus is a true representation of actions over time. Having a dataset such as this is invaluable to data scientists who are working on systems that are tasked with predicting or estimating next best action style models, or performing journey analysis as it is possible to replay a user's steps through a system, learn from changes over time and respond," said Alex Olivier, product manager at marketing personalization software platform company Qubit.
Simply put, machine data is the digital exhaust created by the systems, technologies and infrastructure powering modern businesses.
Matt Davies, head of EMEA marketing at Splunk asks us to paint a picture and imagine your typical day at work, driving to the office in your connected car, logging on to your computer, making phone calls, responding to emails, accessing applications. Davies explains that all this activity creates a wealth of machine data in an array of unpredictable formats that is often ignored.
If made accessible and usable, machine data is argued to be able to help organizations troubleshoot problems, identify threats and use machine learning to help predict future issues.
Spatiotemporal data describes both location and time for the same event -- and it can show us how phenomena in a physical location change over time.
"Spatial data is the 'spatio' in spatiotemporal. It can describe point locations or more complex lines such as vehicle trajectories, or polygons (plane figures) that make up geographic objects like countries, roads, lakes or building footprints," explained Todd Mostak, CEO of MapD.
Temporal data contains date and time information in a time stamp. Valid Time is the time period covered in the real world. Transaction Time is the time when a fact stored in the database was known.
"Examples of how analysts can visualize and interact with spatiotemporal data include: tracking moving vehicles, describing the change in populations over time, or identifying anomalies in a telecommunications network. Decision-makers can also run backend database calculations to find distances between objects or summary statistics on objects contained within specified locations," said MapD's Mostak.
Open data is data that is freely available to anyone in terms of its use (the chance to apply analytics to it) and rights to republish without restrictions from copyright, patents or other mechanisms of control. The Open Data Institute states that open data is only useful if it's shared in ways that people can actually understand. It needs to be shared in a standardized format and easily traced back to where it came from.
"Wouldn't it be interesting if we could make some private data [shapes, extrapolated trends, aggregate values and analytics] available to the world without giving up the source and owner identification of that data? Some technologies are emerging, like multi-party computation and differential privacy that can help us do this," said Mike Bursell, chief security architect at Red Hat.
Bursell explains that these are still academic techniques at the moment, but over the next ten years he says that people will be thinking about what we mean by open data in different ways. The open source world understands some of those questions and can lead the pack. The Red Hat security man says that it can be difficult for organizations that have built their business around keeping secrets. They now have to look at how they open that up to create opportunities for wealth creation and innovation.
Dark data is digital information that is not being used and lies dormant in some form.
Analyst house Gartner Inc. describes dark data as, "Information assets that an organization collects, processes and stores in the course of its regular business activity, but generally fails to use for other purposes."
One of the most explosive trends in analytics is the ability to stream and act around real time data. Some people argue that the term itself is something of a misnomer i.e. data can only travel as fast as the speed of communications, which isn't faster than time itself… so, logically, even real time data is slightly behind the actual passage of time in the real world. However, we can still use the term to refer to instantaneous computing that happens about as fast as a human can perceive.
"Trends like edge computing and the impending rise of 5G are gaining their momentum based upon the opportunities thrown up by real time data. The power of immediacy with data is going to be the catalyst for realizing smart cities," said Daniel Newman, principal analyst at Chicago-based Futurum Research.
Newman says that real time data can help with everything from deploying emergency resources in a road crash to helping traffic flow more smoothly during a citywide event. He says that real time data can also provide a better link between consumers and brands allowing the most relevant offers to be delivered at precise moments based upon location and preferences. "Real time data is a real powerhouse and its potential will be fully realized in the near term," added Newman.
Bharath Gowda, vice president for product marketing at Databricks points at genomics data as another area that needs specialist understanding. Genomics data involves analysing the DNA of patients to identify new drugs and improve care with personalized treatments.
What are the issues here? According to Gowda, data processing and downstream analytics are the new bottlenecks that stop us getting more value out of genomic data. So what makes genomic data different?
"It requires significant data processing and needs to be blended with data from hundreds of thousands of patients to generate insights. Furthermore, you need to look at how you can unify analytics workflows across all teams - from the bioinformatics professional prepping data to the clinical specialist treating patients - in order to maximize its value," said Gowda.
Colin Fernandes is product marketing director for EMEA region at Sumo Logic. Fernandes says that companies have big data, they have application logs and metrics, they have event data, and they have information from microservices applications and third parties.
The question is: how can they turn this data into business insights that decision makers and non-technical teams can use, in addition to data scientists and IT specialists?
Fernandes points out that in practice, this means looking at new applications and business goals together to reverse engineer what your operational data metrics should be. New customer-facing services can be developed on microservices, but how do we make sure we extract the right data from the start? By putting this 'operational data" mindset in place, we can arguably look at getting the right information to the right people as they need it.
High-dimensional data is a term being popularized in relation to facial recognition technologies. Due to the massively complex number of contours on a human face, we need new expressions of data that are multi-faceted enough to be able to handle computations that are capable of describing all the nuances and individualities that exist across out facial physiognomies. Related to this is the concept of eigenfaces, the name given to a set of eigenvectors when they are used in computing to process human face recognition.
The previously quoted Mike Bursell of Red Hat also points to what he calls unverified outdated data. This is data that has been collected, but nobody has any idea whether it's relevant, accurate or even of the right type. We can suggest that in business terms, if you're trusting data that you haven't verified, then you shouldn't be trusting any decisions that are made on its basis. Bursell says that Garbage In, Garbage Out still holds… and without verification, data is just that: garbage.
"Arguably even worse that unverified data, which may at least have some validity and which you should at least know that you shouldn't trust, data which is out-of-date and used to be relevant. But many of the real-world evidence from which we derive our data changes, and if the data doesn't change to reflect that, then it is positively dangerous to use it in many cases," said Bursell.
An amalgam of 'transact' and 'analyze', translytic data is argued to enable on-demand real-time processing and reporting with new metrics not previously available at the point of action. This is the opinion of Mark Darbyshire, CTO for data and database management at SAP UK.
Darbyshire says that traditionally, analysis has been done on a copy of transactional data. But today, with the availability of in-memory computing, companies can perform 'transaction window' analytics. This he says supports tasks that increase business value like intelligent targeting, curated recommendations, alternative diagnosis and instant fraud detection as well as providing subtle but valuable business insights.


We love this classic haler neck dress in Black by Nookie. With flattering rouching detailing and an invisible centre back zip this dress is made from a super soft jersey making this dress both comfortable and flattering. Wear this dress with a pair of heels and a bright lip.


text:
Q: Documents being erroneously approved on insert I have a process that inserts hundreds or thousands of documents a day into a WSS 2.0 site. Recently a developer who is no longer employed with us made a change to enable some approval functionality if an item meets certain criteria - that worked.
However a side effect of a change I've yet to uncover is that now all documents inserted into the site are approved upon insert. I've removed the code that he had added, but something else is still affecting the approval status.
The Time stamp on the file meta data for creation and last modified is exactly the same, so I know that it's not a process running after insertion doing this. The code that is inserting the file has no approval of any sort in it.
I'm thinking there has to be some sort of setting or permission in WSS 2.0 that approves a file upon insertion. Any ideas? Thanks!

A: While I'm still unclear what exactly was auto approving documents upon insertion, removing the admin rights of the user doing the insertion immediately fixed the issue. I don't know if this was built in SP functionality or some other code that runs concurrently with the insert, but as the approvals happen at the exact time of insertion, or the documents are inserted approved already, I'm leaning towards built in SP functionality for documents inserted by an Administrator.
Please comment if you disagree. I would like to have a definitive understanding, even after fixing the issue.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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text:
Zestful Zutphen 2013
With the Dutch/Belgian Pipe Smokers Forum we currently roughly have two big annual meetings. One of those always is held in the city of Zutphen at the beginning of June. Zutphen is very old, it received city-rights between 1191 and 1196, which makes it one of the oldest cities in the country. With my love for history I very much like to look at all the old buildings and wander around there. And smoke a pipe of course.
The store of Willem Schimmel years ago
The place to stay for the Zutphen-meeting is always the store of tobacconist Willem Schimmel. Willem is a very friendly, although a bit chaotic, host who knows the fine trade of being a salesman. He has just has that gut-feeling, is able to tune in on his customers and make them feel very welcome. A rare talent these days. In 1972 at the early age of 21 Willem started his business in the building in the Sprongstraat where he is still located today. Since 1919 a tobacconist is housed there. Originally the business was founded by the Jewish family Gies. Later Bennie Smolders took over and like I said, Willem himself began in 1972.
The store of Willem Schimmel today
Since the sixties his father had a cigar store in Doetinchem. When Willem came back from military service he initially did not really know what he wanted. But with a lot of support from his parents and the three Smolders brothers he then started the business in Zutphen as a 21-year-old rookie. Willem had it not easy in those early years. Of course he was still young and a stranger in Zutphen, so he really had to prove himself. It was always all about hard work and making long hours. His parents had put their savings in the business and he got 25 guilders pocket money and 15 guilders petrol money, he had to do it with that. His father was a true entrepreneur. At that time Willem had some candy standing on the counter, but if he took one for himself it was expected of him that he would put sixty cents in the cash register. His father would say that he had to sell a few packs of cigarettes for that money.
Willem and his two colleagues © K.H. van der Linde
Willem now runs the business with help of two faithful colleagues. After all these years he is still not tired of his profession. He even can call himself now "Maître Pipier", a prestigious French title in pipe smoking. "What you do, you have to do with passion and I have that for this kind of business." Willem says. "You have to, because otherwise you can't properly advise your clients. You have to love the product and possess the desired knowledge."
The smoking lounge on the first floor
That degree of specialization, combined with the authentic look of the store probably made that Willem managed to survive. In the early eighties there was a renovation which was followed by a restoration in 2000. There it was tried to do justice to the old building (which dates back to 1724!) in the Sprongstraat and give it an authentic look as much as possible. Willem: "People are coming in here who do not even smoke, but simply want to see how it looks. We have quite a special historic building with an interior design to match that." Upon entering you see a large wooden counter and high shelves with cigars, cigarettes and pipe-tobacco tins and pouches in all shapes and sizes. Furthermore, in the back of the store is a real climate-room for the storage of cigars. On the first floor is a smoking lounge where customers can sit and smoke and where activities are organised such as workshops and lectures.
The whole group in Zutphen © AJ Verstraten
So last Sunday it was once again time for the annual Dutch/Belgian Pipe Smokers Forum meeting at Willem's store. Actually it just was a Dutch occasion since no folks from our neighbour country to the South came over. A pity but understandable since it is quite a long drive from the Belgium border to Zutphen. At half past eight in the morning my good friend Ed rang the doorbell to pick me up. We had to be early at the store because I had all the name-badges. Usually we have a bunch of regulars who visit a lot of the meetings (like myself) and know each other but there also always are some newbies. Then it is very handy to see the forum-names and real names on those badges.
Jos in his pipe-smoking coat © K.H. van der Linde
When Ed and I arrived Willem was not even there, his colleagues were preparing the store for the meeting. Besides the folks from the forum, some people from German pipe-brand Vauen, Dutch tobacco-importer Pronk and a German gentleman with pipes and tobacco also were going to be present. Nonetheless we immediately got some hot coffee and cake. Shortly after nine o'clock Willem walked in, shook hands with us and asked how we were doing. We sat down and I lit up my first pipe, some Sweet Vanilla Honeydew to begin the day with. When I took the first puffs Mark (Deadl0ck) entered the store. Together with Willem he had organised the day. While chatting away it suddenly seemed that the grim-reaper had appeared! It turned out to be Jos in his pipe-smoking coat. At the back of it he had glued a large metal sign of his favourite tobacco brand: Troost. For me he brought a mouse-mat with the Hell's Pipe Smokers design that I made for some forum shirts a while ago and a couple of home-made peanut-butter pots from the Hartog bakery. Yummie!
Monique and Carro © K.H. van der Linde
After a while more and more forum-folks trickled in and the store got filled up with people. Hands were shaken, pipes were drawn and soon the smoking-lounge saw blue of all the smoke. I approached meeting-newbie Carro (Calinero) because he had a book for me. He is a big bald headed man with tattoos and skull jewellery. Carro lives nearby the store which had that book so I asked him if he could buy it for me a week for the meeting. No problem of course. I decided to give him some extra money for his troubles but he stubbornly refused. Such a nice guy! And from Martin I got the tobacco that was the reason to buy the book. But more about this sometime in another post..
On the "Fluisterboot" © K.H. van der Linde
Somewhat after eleven it was time for us to go the harbour where we were going aboard on two "Fluisterboten" (Whispering-boats), arranged by Willem. These boats are navigated through the canals of Zutphen by volunteers while they point out landmarks and buildings and tell all kinds of stories and facts about the city. We were really in luck with the weather, not too hot, not too cold so it was an enjoyable and educational trip. Once in a while we heard the other boat because Jos then blew loud on his brass ship-horn. So if you ever visit Zutphen with a couple of people, go on a "Fluisterboot" and soak up the history, culture and nature of the city.
Huub welcomes other forum-members at the store © AJ Verstraten
When we came back at Willem's store all kinds of sandwiches and drinks were waiting for us. Who was also waiting was forum-member Huub, he arrived just to late for the boats. I wanted to meet him for a long time because he is such a walking encyclopaedia of pipes and tobaccos. He was amazed at how many younger people were present at the meeting. "In my time you were seen as old when you put a pipe in your mouth" he said. "Well, we don't care!" said someone else smiling.
Ed says it's ok! © K.H. van der Linde
The rest of the afternoon I spent talking to lots of people. And smoking of course. As always you never get to speak all the folks presents but that really does not matter much. There will be other meetings. Who I did talk to was Rob, he showed me an exquisite gold-banded Dunhill billiard and wanted to know from which year it came. And since I am somewhat of a Dunhill-snob I could tell him that. Also present was a guy who brought some (home-blended) whiskies for us to try. A lot of pipe-smokers love whisky. I heard that the man was interested in trying a latakia-blend because he was curious if it resembled the taste of peaty whiskies. He had almost no smoking experience but brought a pipe with him so I fetched my tin of Penzance and filled up his bowl with it. He lit the pipe and I honestly expected the guy to start coughing and seeing green. To my surprise he actually liked the tobacco, he found it very smooth and recognized the peaty flavour. He kept his pipe pretty well lit and began enjoying it even more when the Virginias and orientals kicked in.
Jorg, Ed and a slightly intoxicated (?) Sander at the restaurant © K.H. van der Linde
About half past six it was time to go. We shook hands with Willem and his colleagues and thanked them for the wonderful day. Outside the store one part of the forum-folks said goodbye and the other part made their way to restaurant Oriental. I had been there one time before with Mark and Wilfred (Wowbagger). The restaurant has the best spare-ribs in Zutphen and surrounding area. You know, a nice marinade and properly grilled so the bones fall of the meat. Yum-mie! Several other forum members had heard of that visit so we ended up with 15 people there. Luckily Mark had made reservations.. After the meal we all said goodbye and together with Ed I went home full and satisfied.
So thanks to Willem Schimmel & crew and all the folks of the Dutch/Belgian Pipe Smokers Forum. I can't wait until next year!!!
Here are some more pictures of Willem's store and the meeting:
Beautiful nature on the "Fluisterboot" © K.H. van der Linde
Walking through Zutphen © K.H. van der Linde
Zutphen is very beautiful! © K.H. van der Linde
The store was so busy that some forum-folks decided to sit outside © K.H. van der Linde
(Other) Rob and Mark © K.H. van der Linde
A bunch of pipe-smokers © K.H. van der Linde
Pipes and tobacco for sampling © K.H. van der Linde
Some Vauen pipes © K.H. van der Linde
Inside Willem's store
Rudi and the German gentleman
Jan and Rob © K.H. van der Linde
(Other) Rob, Jorg and Teunis © K.H. van der Linde
Our forum-photographer Klaas who made most of the pictures
Posted in Meetings | Tagged dunhill, fluisterboot, maitre pipier, meeting, penzance, pijprokersforum, pipe smokers, pronk, vauen, whisky, willem schimmel, zutphen


John Lyon at the Arkansas News Bureau illustrates — in the case of money to maintain and build highways — that there is no free lunch in state government.
You can't accommodate inflation and cover existing and growing needs without more money — that is, a tax increase.
"Creative" thinking of the sort advocated by Rep. Andy Davis of Little Rock means taking the money from somebody else — meaning a reduction in that service.
Here, the debate is over reducing the amount of rural roads maintained by the state highway department. That would produce some money for higher volume roads, but it would place a burden on local governments that rural areas, particularly, don't have the resources to bear, not even with tax increases.
Randolph County Judge David Jansen said that for the last 10 years he has had $100,000 in his budget to maintain 150 miles of roads. He said that each year he and his road foreman drive all 150 of those miles and estimate how many loads of asphalt they need — and $100,000 is never enough.
Other creativity includes stealing the set aside from highway revenue for cities and counties. Again: More money for the state, less money for cities and counties.
The city/county lobby is one reason why the free-lunch crowd is lobbying so hard to get a share of general revenue for highways. They claim they want only growth money from carving out a huge chunk of general revenue generated by vehicle purchases. But when the services now supported by that money — schools, prisons, colleges, social services — lose the elasticity of growth money, they are punished by inflation. Services must decline.
That pretty well leaves working poor. Thus, tax cuts that don't include the working poor and the clamor to cut "welfare" — nursing home care, home health services, medical services and the like.
No free lunch? No lunch at all for the voiceless in Arkansas.
PS — The state probably DOES maintain too many miles of highway, product of decades of the dominance of rural interests.


text:
Next Week: J Street's Pro-Peace-And-Justice Endorsements
In April, I wrote about J Street, the first-ever Jewish-led political organization dedicated to a building an American constituency for an immediate and just two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Monday they're going to step their game up and endorse their first slate of candidates. From a statement:
In keeping with its mission to establish a new voice on Israel and the Middle East in American politics, Monday's endorsements will highlight fresh faces – freshmen members of Congress, challengers and competitors for open seats – whose public records and campaign platforms are in line with the PAC's positions.
Monday's endorsements will be the first of several rounds that JStreetPAC will make in this election cycle. The PAC will target its efforts in 2008 on no more than a few dozen candidates running for the House and one or two for the Senate.
Watch to see what happens with those candidates. If J Street can help elect them, they'll be setting an example for how politicians can be pro-peace, pro-justice, pro-Palestine and pro-Israel. Watch the rightwing minority of American Jewry — the ones that control the major Jewish political organizations and hijack the Israel debate — quiver and run.
af362e7c12f3579f713f6d5c397a42a5f4d4c0242257c148ab3f4b889a4a31adab289b4c0d56d91c2edb264e21e916bbd28dc9332c803acfaa7d60c5293a30eb


text:
module("ShapeParameterPolygon");
test("testShapeParameterPolygon_constructorDefault",function(){
    function equalArray(array1, array2){
        if(array1.length !== array2.length){
            return false;
        }

        for(var i = 0, len = array1.length; i < len; i++){
            var arry1i = array1[i];
            var arry2i = array2[i];

            if(arry1i[0] !== arry2i[0]){
                return false;
            }
            if(arry1i[1] !== arry2i[1]){
                return false;
            }
        }
        return true;
    }

    expect(2);
    var shapeParameters = new SuperMap.Feature.ShapeParameters.Polygon([
        [0, 0],
        [15, 15],
        [30, 0]
    ]);
    same(shapeParameters.refOriginalPosition, [0, 0], "refOriginalPosition");
    ok(equalArray(shapeParameters.pointList, [
        [0, 0],
        [15, 15],
        [30, 0]
    ]), "pointList");
    shapeParameters.destroy();
});
test("testShapeParameterPolygon_destroy",function(){
    function equalArray(array1, array2){
        if(array1.length !== array2.length){
            return false;
        }

        for(var i = 0, len = array1.length; i < len; i++){
            var arry1i = array1[i];
            var arry2i = array2[i];

            if(arry1i[0] !== arry2i[0]){
                return false;
            }
            if(arry1i[1] !== arry2i[1]){
                return false;
            }
        }
        return true;
    }

    expect(4);
    var shapeParameters = new SuperMap.Feature.ShapeParameters.Polygon([
        [0, 0],
        [15, 15],
        [30, 0]
    ]);
    same(shapeParameters.refOriginalPosition, [0, 0], "refOriginalPosition");
    ok(equalArray(shapeParameters.pointList, [
        [0, 0],
        [15, 15],
        [30, 0]
    ]), "pointList");
    shapeParameters.destroy();
    same(shapeParameters.refOriginalPosition, null, "refOriginalPosition: null");
    equal(shapeParameters.pointList, null, "pointList");
});


text:
Q: How to add "ParsePushBroadcastReceiver.getActivity" to an application? In which file of an application do I need to add getActivity method of ParsePushBroadcastReceiver?
Thanks.

A: If you followed the documentation for an existing project like me, this is deprecated:
PushService.setDefaultPushCallback(this, YourActivity.class);
This works to me:
Implement your receiver and extends ParsePushBroadcastReceiver class.
public class Receiver extends ParsePushBroadcastReceiver {

    @Override
    public void onPushOpen(Context context, Intent intent) {

        //To track "App Opens"
        ParseAnalytics.trackAppOpenedInBackground(intent);

        //Here is data you sent
        Log.i(tag, intent.getExtras().getString( "com.parse.Data" ));

        Intent i = new Intent(context, HomeActivity.class);
        i.putExtras(intent.getExtras());
        i.setFlags(Intent.FLAG_ACTIVITY_NEW_TASK);
        context.startActivity(i);
    }
}

Then, in your AndroidManifest.xml, (Instead of using ParsePushBroadcastReceiver)
<receiver
    android:name="your.package.name.Receiver"
    android:exported="false" >
    <intent-filter>
        <action android:name="com.parse.push.intent.RECEIVE" />
        <action android:name="com.parse.push.intent.DELETE" />
        <action android:name="com.parse.push.intent.OPEN" />
    </intent-filter>
</receiver>

A: Usually you should add it to the class that extends the ParsePushBroadcastReceiver e.g.
public class YourBroadcastReceiver extends ParsePushBroadcastReceiver {

  ....
  protected Activity getActivity(Context context, Intent intent) {
    return yourActivity; // the activity that shows up
  }
  ....

}

A: Write your on Receiver extends ParsePushBroadcastReceiver and your activity with the help of below code.
public class ParsePushReciever extends ParsePushBroadcastReceiver {

    @Override
    public void onPushOpen(Context context, Intent intent) {
        Log.e("Push", "Clicked");
        Intent i = new Intent(context, MainActivity.class);
        i.putExtras(intent.getExtras());
        i.setFlags(Intent.FLAG_ACTIVITY_NEW_TASK);
        context.startActivity(i);
    }
}

Note: Your activity must be a launcher activity.