In addition to our standard IDC D-sub flat cable-style connectors, Circuit Specialists carries affordable nine, fifteen, twenty-five, and thirty-seven pin D-sub IDC connectors with metal faces for low current applications including networking, telecoms, and signal connection between parts of an electronic or computer system. These metal face connectors essentially cold-weld to wires and ensure a very reliable gas-tight connection. We offer significant savings when you buy in bulk.


Shedding light on the disease from different perspectives.
You are invited to a special Community Q&A on breast cancer. Come and hear about breast cancer from patients on the journey and from experts who diagnose, treat and research the disease.
Peta-Jane Secrett: Cancer survivor, completing her PhD in the Law faculty (on human trafficking) diagnosed with an invasive ductal carcinoma the same week she discovered she was pregnant with her second child.


Recently I read the book Farm City by Novella Carpenter.
It pretty much rocked my world. Carpenter's detailed account of the creation of her urban farm in a rough Oakland neighborhood stoked my already flaming interest in gardening and animal tending. She raised a huge garden on an abandoned lot, a bunch of chickens, rabbits, fruit trees, bees and TWO PIGS! Seriously. She did. And she did it all with a zingy sense of humor that makes me think (if I could overcome my total awe) that we could be friends.
1.) Chickens make food that I like to eat. Eggs are tasty, and absolutely essential for most of my baking needs. Plus, chickens lay eggs in a variety of colors, which makes them taste better. No, it doesn't matter that the color doesn't really impact the insides of the egg. It still tastes better.
2.) Raising chickens would connect me even more to the food I eat, which is something I am totally into.
3.) Having chickens seems like lots of fun! It's an adventure in self-sufficiency!
5.) There are lots of really cool chicken breeds out there that I could help save from extinction. It would be my own little piece of Slow Food's Arc of Taste.
6.) Chickens take compostable material, like fresh veggies, and make it into fertilizer (chicken poop) much faster than worms or compost bins. My garden would benefit greatly from chickens.
8.) The novelty of gathering my own eggs is AMAZING. And, knowing myself, it wouldn't wear off for a loooooong time.
9.) Having the companionship of chickens would be fun, as they are cute, strange and full of personality.
10.) Slaughtering my chickens someday would be a test of my ability to eat meat. If I am not able to kill and eat my own chickens, how can I ask someone else to kill some stranger chicken for me? If I can't feel ok about eating my own flock, than why should I feel ok about eating meat at all?
Since I don't have a ton of space, I have been looking into varieties of chickens that would enjoy living on my deck and foraging in the back yard. They would need to be small, so they could live in a small coop. They would need to be winter hardy, since WI is hella cold for at least 4 months every year. And they would, of course, need to lay eggs that I can eat, preferably enough eggs to make it worth the investment in time, money and other resources. If they were known for their post-mortem tastiness, so much the better.
Though my chicken research has only begun, I am thinking that a Bantam variety would be a perfect fit. They're like mini-versions of many breeds of chickens.
My life would be better with this chicken in it.
Do any of you, dear readers, have chickens? Does anyone have any advice or recommendations for this would-be-chicken-keeper?
We have chickens. We've had chickens since the first year it was legal in Madison, like 2003 or something. We love our Girls!
2) Chickens are pretty hardy in cold weather. It's actually the summer heat that incapacitates them more!
3) Unless you are willing and able to slaughter your hens once they stop laying, be prepared to have a bunch of feathery freeloaders on your hands. Our oldest, Jemima, is pushing 8 and hasn't laid an egg in 7 years.
4) They are mesmerizing. We spend hours upon hours just watching them be ridiculous.
5) We have a BUNCH of books on raising urban chickens if you would like to borrow them.
6) GET CHICKENS! It'll improve your quality of life immeasurably.
do you see much urban agriculture in bangkok? could you get chickens while you're there? that would be seriously AMAZING.


Jim Wells County Commissioners Court will have a Special Meeting at the courthouse to discuss and consider adoption of the 2019 Jim Wells County Budget, to discuss and consider setting the 2018 Tax Rate for Jim Wells County, and to discuss and consider ratifying the Property Tax reflected in the 2019 Budget. The Commissioners Court Meeting will start at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, September 28th, 2018. Click here to view the Commissioner's Agenda.
Jim Wells County Commissioners Court will have a Special Meeting at the courthouse to consider presentation by Sheriff Daniel Bueno of the Proposed 2019 Forteiture Budget, to discuss and consider an action on a resolution to apply for HOME Reservation agreement, to consider and act upon authorizing the County Judge to sign the 2019 RAMP Grant issued by the Texas Department of Transportation (TXDOT) Office of Aviation for routine maintenance projects and for lower cost airport improvements, and to consider budget amendments for several county departments. Other agenda items listed on Commissioner's agenda will be discussed in the meeting. The Commissioners Court Meeting will start at 9:00 a.m. on Friday, September 28th, 2018. Click here to view the Commissioner's Agenda.
Jim Wells County Commissioners Court will have a Special Meeting at the courthouse to consider salary and personal expenses grievances, to discuss and consider adoption of the 2019 Jim Wells County Budget, and to discuss and consider setting the 2018 Tax Rate for Jim Wells County. Other agenda items listed on Commissioner's agenda will be discussed in the meeting. The Commissioners Court Meeting will start at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, September 26th, 2018. Click here to view the Commissioner's Agenda.
Jim Wells County Juvenile Board will have a public meeting to discuss and consider approval of entering into a cooperative working agreement between Jim Wells County Juvenile Probation Department and Community Action Corporation of South Texas for mental health and substance abuse services, to discuss and consider approval of the funding allocation from the Texas Juvenile Justice Department in connection with the State Financial Assistance Contract for the 2018-2019 Biennium, to discuss and consider approval of salary increases for all personnel of the Jim Wells County Juvenile Probation Department paid for out of State Funded Grant. Other agenda items listed on the Juvenile Board agenda will be discussed in the meeting. Due to construction works, the Juvenile Board Meeting will be held at the Jim Wells County Sheriff's Training Center at 300 N. Cameron Street, Alice, Texas 78332 on Tuesday, September 11, 2018 at 8:30 am. Click here to view the Juvenile Board Agenda.
Jim Wells County Commissioners Court will have a Regular Meeting to discuss and consider VFW Post 8621 10 Mile Veteran's Day Run, to discuss and consider appointment of Floodplain Administrator and compensation, to hold 2019 Budget Workshop session, and to consider budget amendments for several county departments. Other agenda items listed on Commissioner's agenda will be discussed in the meeting. Due to construction works, the Commissioners Court Meeting will be held at the Jim Wells County Sheriff's Training Center at 300 N. Cameron Street, Alice, Texas 78332 on Monday, September 10, 2018 at 10:00 am. Click here to view the Commissioner's Agenda.
Jim Wells County Commissioners Court will have a Special Meeting to discuss and consider year 2018 proposed tax rate, to discuss and consider year 2019 Proposed Budget, to consider and take action to convert the intersection of Whitney and Second Streets in Ben Bolt, and to consider budget amendments for several county departments. Other agenda items listed on Commissioner's agenda will be discussed in the meeting. Due to construction works, the Commissioners Court Meeting will be held at the Jim Wells County Sheriff's Training Center at 300 N. Cameron Street, Alice, Texas 78332 on Monday, August 27, 2018 at 10:00 am.Click here to view the Commissioner's Agenda.
Last day of operation: Thursday, August 23, 2018, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Last day of operation: Saturday, August 25, 2018, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Disaster recovery centers in Weslaco, Mission, McAllen, and Alice will continue operating until further notice. Centers in Weslaco, Mission, and McAllen are open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., Closed Sunday.
The Disaster Recovery Center in Alice is open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Closed Sunday.
To find a disaster recovery center, visit http://fema.gov/drc, or call 1-800-621-3362. TTY call 1-800-462-7585.
Jim Wells County Commissioners Court will have a Regular Meeting to discuss and consider installation of Road Bore Crossing, to discuss and consider accepting sealed bids for seal coat projects for Precinct #2 Commissioner Ventura Garcia, to consider Presentation by Elizabeth Vargas with SBA Federal Disaster Loans, and to consider budget amendments for several county departments. Other agenda items listed on Commissioner's agenda will be discussed in the meeting. Due to construction works, the Commissioners Court Meeting will be held at the Jim Wells County Sheriff's Training Center at 300 N. Cameron Street, Alice, Texas 78332 on Monday, August 13, 2018 at 10:00 am.Click here to view the Commissioner's Agenda.
Jim Wells County added to the Disaster Declaration for Individual Assistance. Disaster Recovery Centers opening in Jim Wells County.
The Disaster Recovery Center in Alice will open Wednesday, August 8, 2018, at 1 pm. The Center will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. Closed Sunday.
The Disaster Recovery Center in Premont will open Tuesday, August 7, 2018, at 1 pm. Regular hours will start Wednesday, August 8th. The Center will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. Closed Sunday.
In observance of Independence Day, Jim Wells County offices will be closed on Wednesday, July 4th.
The Office of the Jim Wells County Judge Pedro "Pete" Trevino, Jr. issued a press release addressing disaster response and recovery in Jim Wells County.>Click here to view the Press Releas.


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Town and Country Foods Hamburg Patty / Beef Sirloin Filet Recall Lawsuit
Home » Food Poisoning » Town and Country Foods Hamburg Patty / Beef Sirloin Filet Recall Lawsuit
A Greene, Maine establishment is now recalling more than 2,000 pounds of ground and tenderized beef products because they may be tainted with E. coli 0157:H7, a potentially deadly foodborne pathogen. The products subject to recall were produced between April 4 and April 10, 2012, and were distributed to retail establishments in Maine. Signs and symptoms of E. coli food poisoning include nausea, vomiting, stomach cramps, and diarrhea that is often bloody.
Free Town and Country Foods Hamburg Patty / Beef Sirloin Filet Recall Lawsuit Evaluation: If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with E. coli food poisoning after eating Town and Country Hamburg Patties or Beef Sirloin Filets, you should contact our law firm immediately. You may be entitled to compensation by filing a suit against Town and Country Foods Inc. and we can help.
April 11, 2012 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) issued a press release today announcing that Town and Country Foods Inc. is currently recalling the following beef products because they have the potential to be contaminated with E. coli bacteria:
5- and 10- lb. boxes of 2-, 2.6-, 3-, and 4- oz. "Town & Country Foods XL Hamburg Patties"
5- and 10- lb. boxes of 2-, 2.6-, 3-, and 4- oz. "Town & Country Foods Hamburg Patties"
10- lb. box containing variously weighted bags of "Town & Country Beef for Stewing"
6-, 8-, and 10- oz. "Town & Country Beef Sirloin Filets"
5- and 10- lb. boxes containing variously weighted bags of "Town and Country Hamburg"
5- and 10- lb. boxes containing variously weighted bags of "Town and Country XL Hamburg"
Each case bears the establishment number 'EST. 9710' inside the USDA mark of inspection. Additionally, these products contain the following packaging codes: 10952, 10962, 10972, 11002, and 11012.
The contamination was detected through company testing which confirmed the presence of E. coli 0157:H7. Town and Country Foods failed to hold product pending tests results, resulting in this recall. To date, there have been no illnesses reported in connection with this incident. Individuals concerned they may be suffering from E. coli food poisoning should contact their healthcare provider immediately.
E. Coli Food Poisoning
E. coli is a potentially lethal bacterium that can cause bloody diarrhea, dehydration, and even kidney failure. Children, senior citizens, and those with compromised immune systems are the most susceptible to E. coli food poisoning. Signs and symptoms may include:
the sudden onset of abdominal pain and severe cramping
bowel necrosis (tissue death)
hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS)
acute kidney failure
Most people infected with E. coli develop diarrhea and abdominal cramps 2-8 days after swallowing the organism, but some illnesses can last longer and be more severe. Infection is typically diagnosed with a stool sample. Most people recover within a week, but some develop severe infection.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that each year at least 2,000 Americans are hospitalized, and about 60 die as a direct result of E. coli infection and its complications. A recent study estimated the annual cost of E. coli O157:H7 illnesses to be $405 million, which included $370 million for premature deaths, $30 million for medical care, and $5 million for lost productivity.
Click on the links below if you'd like additional information on these topics from Schmidt & Clark, LLP:
Ground Beef Recalls
E. Coli Outbreaks
Food Poisoning Attorneys
Do You Have a Town and Country Foods Hamburg Patty / Beef Sirloin Filet Recall Lawsuit?
The Food Poisoning Litigation Group at our law firm is an experienced team of trial lawyers that focus on the representation of plaintiffs in Town and Country Foods Hamburg Patty & Beef Sirloin Filet lawsuits. We are handling individual litigation nationwide and currently accepting new E. coli food poisoning cases in all 50 states.
Free Town and Country Foods Hamburg Patty / Beef Sirloin Filet Recall Lawsuit Evaluation: If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with E. coli food poisoning after consuming Town and Country Hamburg Patties or Beef Sirloin Filets, you should contact our law firm immediately. You may be entitled to compensation by filing an E. coli food poisoning suit and we can help.
Albertsons Ground Beef Recall Lawsuit
Sysco Seattle Prime Rib Beef Patty Recall Lawsuit
Tyson Ground Beef Recall Lawsuit
Commercial Meat Co. Ground Beef Recall Lawsuit
Manning Beef Recall Lawsuit

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Why Chromacity?
Chromacity OPO
Chromacity 1040
Chromacity 520
21 Dec Heriot-Watt enters collaboration agreement with Chromacity
Posted at 09:20h in News by Mike Dalgleish
University signs five-year Strategic Relationship Agreement with Chromacity to transform academic research into commercial innovation.
Heriot-Watt University today announced a new, five-year partnership with ultrafast laser manufacturer Chromacity. The agreement enhances the continued close collaboration between Chromacity and Heriot-Watt, with the company ideally positioned to commercialise academic research in the field of laser-related photonics.
Heriot-Watt University is renowned for its expertise in photonics and ultrafast laser physics, with a 100-strong research community and 400 technology outputs cited in the top 10% in the world. Together, the partnership will explore and develop commercialisation opportunities through joint funding applications, research projects and technology licensing agreements.
Heriot-Watt will also provide Chromacity with access to state-of-the-art lab facilities, workshops and research staff in the photonics field, while Chromacity supports the University by seconding at least one PhD or EngD student per year.
Prof. Patrik Öhberg, who leads the University's Institute of Photonics and Quantum Sciences (IPAQS), said, "The technology that Chromacity has developed is all about accuracy and control of light, and this skill supports a wide range of applications within spectroscopy and microscopy techniques. This agreement aims to facilitate the transformation of Heriot-Watt's fundamental research into commercial opportunities by leveraging Chromacity's expertise in developing ultrafast lasers for academic and industrial markets."
To date, the partnership has produced innovative laser solutions to global challenges by focusing on the development of next generation optical parametric oscillators which are critical for applications such as detection of gases which are harmful to people, assets and the environment.
Shahida Imani, CEO, Chromacity, said, "We are thrilled to have signed a Strategic Relationship Agreement with one of the world's top Universities for laser-related photonics. Chromacity has strong foundations with Heriot-Watt and we look forward to helping build bridges between the pioneering research taking place at the University and the commercial applications where those discoveries can play a transformative role in society."
sales@chromacitylasers.com
Chromacity Ltd.
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Edinburgh, EH14 4AP
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our perfectly imperfect life: Back to school, kiddos.
Whelp ... I guess summer got busy. So much for my pact with um ... myself ... to blog about our summertime adventures. I feel like therapy has consumed our life and I am currently evaluating our 4-mornings-a-week therapy schedule ... momma needs a break!
Somehow, it has been almost 7 years since I became a momma. I ... in no way, shape or form ... know where the time has gone and that bums me out. Big time. I feel like I've missed so much, even though I've been here the whole time!
School is back in session. Man, I love my kids but I'm loving the fact that I have my afternoons to myself this year! Our mornings are nutso ... three kids, three different buses, three different elementary schools. Come lunchtime, I'm ready for a break!
Mason has started 1st grade. I think he and I both were more nervous for him to start 1st grade than we were for kindergarten. I don't know what it is ... the fact that he is older, has more responsibility and is more aware of the social aspect of school? Why does the social aspect of everything stress me out so much?!
Speaking of ... I snapped this picture in a hurry as we got out of the car at the bus stop. Mason was less than thrilled and sort of placed himself behind the car so his friends would not have to see his mom doting on him. Oh dear ... I am such an embarrassment!
Nika was so excited to start school this year ... she jumped right into the mix of things at orientation ... I'm excited to see what this school year does for her being in a peer modeling classroom.
Even though Nika is just 9 months younger than Payton, I feel like developmentally she is so much younger. She has come so far since coming home from Russia, but she still has a lot of catching up to do. We are waiting for more spontaneous speech to show up ... her therapists do not believe she has apraxia like Payton, just really weak oral motor function. She can repeat every letter and sound of the alphabet, but developmentally she is not really putting those sounds together spontaneously.
Payton continues to be the little mother hen to Nika ... sometimes nicely, sometimes overboard. Ahem ... bossy little thang.
Payton is in love with school. Even the sheer mention of school, she runs to get her backpack and is ready to go ... whether or not she gets to go to school that day. The fact that Mason got to get on his bus before her was a problem ... a big problem. I had to pull her from his bus line ... kicking and screaming. Oh, she cried. She just wants to get on the bus with everyone else! Hopefully now that she knows the bus order, things will be better ... even Nika gets to go before her.
I was so excited to wait for her bus with her. I knew she would be so excited ... and of course I missed all the rah-rah-jump-up-and-down on video. Grr.
Crazy chick. I can't believe we only have one year until kindergarten ... ahh!
Awh they are so excited !!! Hope they had a great first day at school. And bummer those high steps !!
Your kiddos are just too cute. That squishy face of Nika's is the cutest thing ever!!!
thanks for sharing Bethany, so much fun watching your children head off to school.
we are 6mths in front starting in Jan. Sadly that means 6mths till we start Pre (your Kindergarten) our kids all have to wear uniforms here.
hope Mason had a wonderful first day. My Matt same age is loving school so much.
Love your blog. The girls are getting so big! Thanks for sharing! They are such beautiful, sweet kids! You are such an awesome Mama!
Oh loved when Payton fixed Nika's hair. What a little mommy making sure she was pretty for the bus! You are not as embarrassing as I am! I actually meet the kids at school and take their pictures in their classrooms. Grace still thinks it's a great idea (in 2nd grade)....Jack, not to happy (5th grade) :). What are moms good for if we can't embarass them a little :). They will like the pictures when they are old and have their own kids!
ROFL!!!!! "Whelp"...Meaning=female dog having puppies. ROFL Ok, so I cried when Nika got on the bus. How I remember that very first day with Angela. It was so very long ago! Wow. How can one not smile at Payton's exuberance? She is a riot. Love that girl!
yeah!!! so glad they love school and ride the bus. I still havent gotten to the point where I will let Mayson ride the bus yet (sigh).
Are you loving your free afternoons or what????
love the review, and loved to watched the old posts, yeah so much has changed.
It's hard for me to look at any picture or video of Nika and not think about how different her life is today because of the love and opening of your heart and family to her. You have a such a beautiful family! Love the videos of the girls getting on the bus. Wish I would've taken some video of Morgan when she used to ride the bus. So little going off to school on the big school bus. Love all your pictures. Wish you lived closer so you could give me a little photo class!
Precious!!! and I second Heather. It amazes me to see what her life is and to know what it could have been.
Oh my goodness, they are just adorable! I love the video and the photos with the bus coming in the background!
I feel your pain regarding the therapy schedule. We go four afternoons during the week! All of the running around is exhausting!
your photographs are AMAZING. of course, your kids are beautiful subjects :).


Jennifer Raff is a geneticist who writes a science column for The Guardian.
… "She Has Her Mother's Laugh" particularly shines when it comes to engaging with the notion of race, a topic once again pushed to the forefront of public discourse. In recent years, we have seen the publication of numerous popular books purporting to tackle the "forbidden" issue of the biological basis of race. Many have been riddled with scientific errors, uninformed by history or lacking in nuance and clarity when discussing interpretations of patterns of human genetic variation. Zimmer's book is a refreshing antidote. He details the history of scientific racism and explains the meaning (and lack of meaning) of genetic differences between people and populations in a way that is both accurate and accessible to nonscientists.


text:
Main • Contents • Editors • Scope • Publisher • Rules for Authors • Submit a paper • Search • Statistics • Contacts • Log in
Article No. 155
D. Jiang, D. O'Regan, and R. P. Agarwal: Optimal existence theory for single and multiple positive periodic solutions to functional differential equations. Published in vol. 6 (2003), No. 3, pp. 334-345.
Available in PDF
Entire volume 6
© Institute of Mathematics of the NAS of Ukraine. Last updated 15 January 2022 at 19:43. Contact address: nosc@imath.kiev.ua


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Telemundo and Netflix Reveal the First Look 'Luis Miguel La Serie'
By Jana On Camera on March 21, 2018 • ( Leave a comment )
Diego Boneta as Luis Miguel and Paulina Dávila who plays Luis Miguel's first love, Issabela Camil. (Netflix/ Telemundo)
This year, the long-awaited series about legendary singer Luis Miguel, Luis Miguel La Serie, will finally be released! The highly-anticipated, official authorized story of legendary Mexican singer, Luis Miguel. The biopic will be premiere on Telemundo in the US and Puerto Rico, and on Netflix in Latin America and Spain in 2018.
Telemundo and Netflix shared the first official video of Diego Boneta as Luis Miguel in the series. For the first time, we see the actor, who will portray the world-renowned singer, saying "Music is a very difficult world, it is a very sacrificed career. Sometimes I ask myself if all was worth it."
Throughout the series, we see the singer overcome an array of difficulties in his pursuit of fame. He tackles challenges, makes sacrifices, and breaks world records to become one of the most famous Latino singers in history.
Aside from Mexican actor/singer Diego Boneta, the cast includes Óscar Jaenada as Luis' dad Luis Rey, Camila Sodi as his love of his life, Paulina Dávila as his first love, and Juanpa Zurita as his brother Alex.
Luis' father and manager, Luis Rey, played by Óscar Jaenada. (Netflix/ Telemundo)
Camila Sodi, his "big love." (Netflix/ Telemundo)
Social media star Juanpa Zurita plays Luis Miguel's brother, Alejandro Basteria. (Netlfix/ Telemundo)
Tagged as: #LuisMiguelLaSerie, Camila Sodi, Diego Boneta, Luis Migule La Serie, Netflix, Oscar Jaenada
Forgiven Films Acquires the Latin Dance Drama "SHINE"
Hotel Transylvania 3 – New Trailer & Photos


Drum Cussac, the global risk and security consultancy, and Collinson, experts in global traveller assistance, have partnered to launch a 24/7/365 integrated travel risk management solution that will help organisations fulfil their duty of care and beyond and enhance the wellbeing of employees travelling abroad.
From pre-travel support, real-time intelligence and people tracking through to crisis management, emergency evacuations and global medical assistance, the strategic partnership puts travellers at the heart of the proposition and will provide total peace of mind for any organisation looking to mitigate organisational risk and safeguard their travellers' wellbeing – wherever they are.
MedicalAssist: Find out how we can get your travellers home safely with global, multilingual medical support.


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"I find hope in the work of long-established groups such as the Arms Control Association...[and] I find hope in younger anti-nuclear activists and the movement around the world to formally ban the bomb."
– Vincent Intondi
Professor of History, Montgomery College
Britain, France Ratify CTB Treaty, Administration Looks to Senate
U.S., Russia Agree to Call for Negotiating New START Successor
(September 8, 2022)
No Ordinary NPT Review Conference
Nuclear Testing
U.S., Russia Discuss Threats of Nuclear Use
(November 17, 2022)
U.S., Marshall Islands Grapple With Nuclear Legacy
(November 1, 2022)
The Iranian Nuclear Crisis: Time for Plan B
(December 1, 2022)
Russia Delays Meeting on New START
By Craig Cerniello
In early April, Britain and France became the first of the five declared nuclear-weapon states to deposit their instruments of ratification for the Comprehensive Test Ban (CTB) Treaty. President Bill Clinton, who submitted the treaty to the Senate for its advice and consent to ratification last September, reiterated his call for Senate approval this year. It is uncertain, however, whether the administration will achieve this goal given Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jesse Helms' unwillingness to schedule hearings. (See ACT, January/February 1998.)
British Ambassador to the United Nations Sir John Weston and France's ambassador, Alain Dejammet, jointly deposited their countries' instruments of ratification with UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, the depositary of the treaty, in an April 6 ceremony. As of the end of April, the CTB Treaty has been signed by 149 states and ratified by 13. The treaty will enter into force 180 days after 44 designated states have deposited their instruments of ratification. These 44 states include the five declared nuclear-weapon states, the three "threshold" states (India, Israel and Pakistan) and 36 other states that are participating members of the Conference on Disarmament and recognized by the International Atomic Energy Agency as possessing nuclear power and/or research reactors. Thus far, 41 of the 44 states have signed and six (Austria, Britain, France, Japan, Peru and Slovakia) have ratified. India, North Korea and Pakistan are the only three of the 44 states yet to sign the treaty.
In connection with Britain's ratification, Foreign Secretary Robin Cook said, "The CTBT is a cornerstone of international efforts to prevent nuclear proliferation. Britain's ratification signals our commitment to the goal of a nuclear weapons free world.... I urge all countries which have not yet signed or ratified to do so whether or not they possess nuclear weapons."
In an April 6 statement, Clinton said, "I applaud this milestone in the global effort to reduce the nuclear threat and build a safer world.... The CTBT is in the best interests of the United States because its provisions will significantly further our nuclear nonproliferation and arms control objectives and strengthen international security."
The following day, John Holum, director of the arms control and disarmament agency and acting undersecretary of state for arms control and international security, urged the Senate to approve the CTB "before it goes home this fall." Holum said during his press briefing that the administration will continue to publicly make the case for the CTB—a treaty that he noted enjoys overwhelming public support.
Earlier in the month, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright emphasized the importance of U.S. action. In her April 2 remarks to the American Association of Newspaper Editors, she said, "Some senators may seek to delay the [CTB] Treaty's ratification, arguing that because of a handful of holdout nations, it will not enter into force any time soon. But it is precisely because some nations are resisting the treaty that our leadership in approving it is so important. We don't want to give the naysayers another excuse not to act; we want to turn up the heat. And the way to do that is for the United States to lead the way in ratifying the CTBT, just as we did last year in approving the Chemical Weapons Convention—which led, in turn, to ratification of that agreement by Russia, China, Iran and Pakistan."


A team of producers from the Destination Truth, a US-based television channel, claim they found footprints of the mysterious Yeti, an ape-like creature similar to "Bigfoot" in the U.S. or "Sasquatch" in Canada.
The nine producers went to Mount Everest in the Himalayas and spent nearly a week in the icy Khumbu region (elevation 2,850 meters or 9,350 feet). Using infrared cameras, they claim they have found the footprints of the infamous Yeti.
Josh Gates, host of a weekly travel adventure show, told Reuters the footprints look very, very similar and nothing like bear prints.
The Sherpa porters and guides, mostly from the country of Nepal, believe there is an ape-like creature called a Yeti in the area. They say they have seen it many times in the past. There have been many similar claims, but so far no clear scientific proof has been found.
Ang Tshering Sherpa, chief of Nepal Mountaineering Association in Kathmandu, who hails from the Khumbhu region were Mount Everest is located, said: "There is a kind of mysterious creature that lives in the Himalayas,"
Gates believes these footprints were made by a Yeti and has sent evidence to the U.S. for further examination. He also claims these footprints are fresh and may have been made very recently, about 24 hours before they were discovered.
Gates told Reuters: "This print is so pristine, so good that I am very intrigued by this."
They say they will be doing more investigation regarding this in the future.
If you are a Tintin fan, you might have heard of this Yeti creature before.
Since there are so much modern equipment, including high-resolution satellites, I would imagine scientists could easily verify if these claims are true or not. In my opinion, footprints are not sufficient proof of a Yeti's existence.
Do you believe in the existence of a Yeti or Bigfoot?


The Blog for Geniuses The Blog for Geniuses | Some People on the InterNet are So Dumb!
Some People on the InterNet are So Dumb!
I don't like to complain about ANYONE, but sometimes the need presents itself. At my fpoe (former place of employment) one of my fellow associates seemed to get more than his fair share of personal phone calls during the day. One day while at the service desk, I counted at least 10 unnecessary pages to call him to the phone. Ironically, one of which was his wife calling him to compare the price of an item to another stores price of a similar product. Needless to say, this genius did not last as long as I. No, I did not get him in trouble.
I understand the need for a periodic phone call while on the job for important things, but as many as 10 IN ONE EIGHT HOUR SHIFT?! But it seems to be happening again. Its as if I can answer the phone and know precisely who it is for even when that person is not working that day. Of course, I have been known to make a phone call while at the store. One incident included calling a friend while being alone and not having had a customer for 30 minutes right before closing.
Over the many years I have been employed in retail, I have had several horror stories. Today, I had one involving a vendor and our restroom. The person who regularly brings in our daily supply of nation wide chain donuts had to use of facilities. Shortly after he returned, our assistant manager had to visit the lavatory. Minutes later, I was called to the front and was advised to go and look in the bathroom. I had my suspicions and said… that is ok, I can use my imagination. Shortly thereafter, I was informed that our delivery man must have had a weak bladder as there was a rather sizable puddle covering much of our rather small bathroom floor. To make matters worse, the sink was totally dry, no indication that he had washed after he missed the stool. The female cashier and I had a short debate concerning male and female bathroom practices. The result of the incident resulted in a phone call to the donut distributor. I wonder if this particular driver will be making any deliveries anytime soon or if he does, will he be able to look at the store in the same light. I feel sorry for the next stop on his route. One thing is for sure, I will definitely not be eating any of their donuts for quite a while. Kind of reminiscent of a creamed chicken sandwich incident at a wedding reception. This deliveryman must qualify for a real genius.
This evening I took a jaunt to our local community theatre for a combined play reading/production meeting. I believe that the entire meeting lasted 45 minutes and in those 45 minutes all I recall accomplishing is finding out that work we have done for nearly 3 months has gotten us nowhere man. In May, we were to submit by the end of June a proposal for the 2009-2010 season. Fine, we do that; HOWEVER, the board who was to vote on our proposal did not meet to vote on our proposal. In fact, it sounded like one (maybe even two) of our proposals would be nixed. One of the reasons presented for one of the shows to be axed is because an area high school may be doing it. Why should this matter? We are not a high school putting on an annual play. I still hear people comment that they do not know of the existence of a live community theatre house even from those who live in the town. High schools present shows to perform, mainly, for parents and grandparents (with some exceptions). Community theatre attempts to perform for a broader audience: the theatre-loving audience… not just those people who come to see a show to see junior on stage. It's also nice when it can attract more non-traditional audience members.
My question is this: If we are to ax a show because a high school may be doing it in the same season, then are we to survey each school in the area to see if any of the shows are identical? Who acquiesces and allows the other group to do the show?
Another issue was addressed on choosing directors for shows. I was floored when I heard that another person wanted to direct a show that someone else was planning and ready to submit for approval. How unfair?! A person who was concentrating on independently bringing a show and then all of a sudden someone else wants to direct it? This of course was one of the other possibly axed shows. I just don't know, but it sounds like we have a lot of geniuses at work here.
When choosing a best man for a wedding, a future groom generally would believe that the person asked to stand with him on his wedding day would actually show up. Tuesday night, my cousin's fiance found out that his best man had to work Saturday, the day of the wedding. DUHHHHHHH!!! How long in advance was the ceremony scheduled? I knew last May on which date the ceremony was going to be. One has to wonder where this "best man's" priorities lied.
Never fear, there were back ups in place. Hopefully, one who fit the tux. One was the groom's brother Eric who was arriving from Pennsylvania with his boyfriend, Jamie on Tuesday. Eric was already serving as an usher.
The other was a former schoolmate and friend of the groom. In the end, the schoolmate was chosen.
So when choosing your best man, maid (matron) of honor, be sure that they will actually be able to schedule your ceremony around their busy life.
Last thursday night on the coming attraction for tonight's "Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader", it was announced that someone gets to the million dollar question and answers it. I was totally flabergasted that they would actually announce that someone would finally win the top prize more than a year after the show first aired. Then I remembered watching "Live with Regis and Kelly" (or was it Kathie Lee at the time…. who cares). On one particular morning, Regis announced that on that very night someone would win a million on "Who Wants to be a Millionaire." At the time, it seemed exciting and of course I watched. I even remember the question (Which president made an appearance on the television series "Laugh In?"). Over the past few years, it seems like a cheap way to increase ratings.
Unfortunately, this smart (?) guy thought the subject of the sentence was "cake" so he chose answer C. Sorry to say, the fifth grade student who could have saved him also chose the wrong answer. So the bright guy who knew he would be the first million dollar winner on the show flunked out on the second question and went home with nothing.
AH, but wait….. since the man was sooooo sure that he would not only get to the top question but answer it correctly, Jeff showed the question and it was answered correctly.
A Stick Figure Role-Playing Game.
It took me 8 minutes to win this game. It will probably take you much longer.
To keep up with both blogs, allow me to post some more wonderfully hideous titles and synopses. OR…. lets make it even more fun. I will give a list of titles and synopses. See if you can guess which one contains the actual description.
1. Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up To Me. The story of a young child who falls into a well and finds herself in another world populated by giant red ants.
2. Fat Guy Goes Nutzoid. A large man with a Mohawk haircut escapes from a mental hospital and becomes the friend of two rich kids.
3. Night of the Day of the Dawn of the Son of the Bride of the Return of the Terror of the Attack of the Evil, Mutant, Hellbound, Flesh-Eating Subhumanoid Zombified Living Dead, Part 3. A horror movie aficinado takes her fascination too far when she unearths the remains of Dr. Frankenstein, Count Dracula, The Mummy, and The Creature from the Black Lagoon.
The last job I would ever even consider having is a school bus driver. Not only do you have to put up with crabby, rowdy children for up to two hours a day while trying to get them safely to and from school, you have to put up with their guardians. My mother drives a school bus. She is up at 6am ever morning. She drives a morning route, a kindergarten route, and the afternoon route. Last Tueday NIGHT, the grandmother of one of these tykes visited our humble abode. It seems that her car was totally ruined and completely undrivable after my mother backed into it with a bus that morning. The woman stated that she was outside in the yard at the time of the incident. Yet she did not attempt to stop the bus or call the school or police after she watched the bus damage her vehicle. Not only that, but who would wait until 9 o' clock that night to do anything about it. Plus, if the car was damaged as badly as it was claimed to be would the bus driver or kids not have noticed hitting it?
The next day the sheriff's department came to the house to investigate. Apparently, the victim's automobile was not nearly as damaged as everyone was lead to believe. To make matters seem funnier or more ironic, the woman is the mother of the rather plump boy who broke my sister's arm in phys ed nearly 20 years ago when he sat on it while playing scooterboard hockey. It does not take a genius to realize that you should report an accident immediately after it happens and not 14 hours later.
Why the Cubs will NEVER win a World Series!
The Cubs don't just lose. They lose with style. They find new ways to make people say to themselves "I can't believe the Cubs found a way to choke again!" But why do they keep losing? Is it a CURSE? Yes it is… But it has nothing to do with goats and everything to do with dollars.
Take the Chicago White Sox for example. They won a World Series not too long ago. But now, that is history and they are no longer selling out every game and in the national spotlight. They have no story. They are just another team that wins some and loses some.
But, to be a money machine you MUST have a story. You must either be a big winner (like the Yankees) or a big loser (like the Cubs). If you're just floating around in the middle, you are not a story. You are no longer the eternal undergdogs everyone roots for on the side. You are… Just another baseball team.
If the Cubs were to win a World Series, Lovable Loser would no longer fit. And unless they could consistantly win, neither would the title of Elite Team. So, I wouldn't expect to see the Cubs winning a World Series any time soon. They will always be a devistating injury, botched play, or Steve Bartman away.
Because baseball is a business and a good story is good for business.
Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton a New President for the Democrats?
So, another election year is upon us and guess what… We're deciding between a black man and a white woman. Either decision will result in the potential for "something new" in the Whitehouse.
If you could choose two candidates that don't fit the "presidential mold" then a black man and a woman are about as different (in appearance) as you can get. But at the core… Obama, a straight black man, and Clinton, a gay white woman, think very much the same… They both think "WHITE MAN".
Remember, Obama is not black. He is 50% black. So, if 50% black makes him black then 50% white makes him white. So, if you're saying he is a "black man" running for president. You can use the exact same logic to say he is a "white man" running for president. In fact, Obama's main influence growing up was his WHITE mother. He was raised in a white household by a white parent.
Remember, Hillary is not a lady. Sure, she is genetically a female but she thinks male. She has male drive, male goals, and if you watch her on the stump — male emotion. In fact, rumors that Hillary Clinton is gay have been circulating long beofre her presidential campaign. See here and here and here.
Obama, LOOKS black but thinks WHITE; looks MALE and thinks MALE.
Clinton LOOKS white and thinks WHITE; looks FEMALE but thinks MALE.
So they both think WHITE MALE even though neither of them have that appearance.
The difference IS only skin deep. So, as we try to pretend that this is a new breakthrough in the Whitehouse and that this is not just another election of a WHITE MALE we should be ashamed of ourselves. Yes, it is politics as usual in Washington.


text:
Blackpool gran stole mobiles worth thousands after 'pressure by loan shark'
Julie Birchenough worked as a security manager and was tasked with preventing thefts by staff
Chris Slater
Julie Birchenough
Want all the latest cases and top crime stories from Lancs Live? Sign up
A grandmother from Blackpool was caught stealing mobile phones worth thousands from the courier firm she worked from, a court heard.
Julie Birchenough said she was "pressured" into doing so by a "loan shark" she is now hiding from.
The 56-year-old was a security manager tasked with preventing thefts by staff and swiped 24 high-end phones worth around £24,000.
READ MORE: Blackpool boxer's tragic last social media posts before river death
She was eventually caught out after suspicious bosses installed covert cameras in her office at the base where she worked.
At her sentencing hearing, she claimed she had been put under 'significant pressure' to steal them in a bid to wipe a £1,000 back-street loan that she was unable to meet the 'astronomical' repayments for, the Manchester Evening News reports.
And she narrowly avoided being straight to prison by a judge after he was told she had not been 'living the high life' or earned any money from her crimes
Birchenough, from Lancashire, had worked for delivery firm Yodel for around 10 years, and was based at their branch on Beal Lane in Shaw, Minshull Street Crown Court heard.
Her role involved her overseeing the safe and secure movement of goods within the depot.
As a highly trusted member in the security team, she was not subject to the same security requirements as the staff she managed, Harriet Lavin, prosecuting said.
Birchenough pleaded guilty to four counts of theft by an employee
However in August 2019 a "significant pattern of loss" led bosses at the firm to investigate and to install covert cameras.
Then in the early hours of a night shift, on August 21, Birchenough was seen walking to her car "keeping her arms tightly by her side."
As a result was searched and although nothing was found on her person, two mobile phones were found under the driver's seat of the car.
Police officers attended and she was arrested.
During a search of her home 13 phones were then found in her wardrobe and another three in a package in the kitchen.
There was also a 'memo book' which referred to a number of other phones, Ms Lavin said.
She added Yodel had been forced to meet all the financial loss of the phones.
Birchenough, originally from near Blackpool, pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to four counts of theft by an employee.
She had now been sacked and was working in a fish and chip shop, the court was told.
Birchenough was handed a suspended sentence
Mark Fireman, defending, said Birchenough, who the court was told has mobility issues as a result of arthritis and who appeared in the dock using a crutch, had resorted to stealing the phones as a result of pressure from a "loan shark" who had lent her money.
He said that when the defendent's mother was alive they had "a car that was paid for by disability benefits" but following her mother's death "that went."
She said wanted to buy a "modest" car to "assist her in everyday life" but was "rebuffed" for a loan by mainstream finance firms, so borrowed £1,000 from someone she found via a newspaper advert, Mr Fireman said.
However she "didn't understand" what she was getting herself into and began struggling to meet the "astronomical" interest charges, he added.
"This person followed her to where she worked and told her in order to pay back the money she would have to steal from her employers. She didn't want to" ,Mr Fireman said.
She thought the first six phones she stole would be enough, he added, but said she was "put under more pressure to steal more and more phones."
"There is no evidence she was doing anything other with these phones than handing them over to this person who had made her steal them."
He said Birchenough had now been forced to "flee" and had moved from the area where she had been living as they still insisted she owed them money.
However passing sentence, the judge Recorder Michael Maher said he could understand why the prosecution were 'sceptical' about her version of events.
"You had a good job as a security manager," he told her.
"You had a high degree of responsibility.
"You were tasked with making sure staff didn't pilfer goods which were in transit.
"I ask myself why does a woman in her mid-fifties of impeccable character throw it to the four winds?
"You say demands were made by a faceless individual operating in the shadows which were coercive and threatening.
"I say faceless as you have refused to name this individual. And you have placed before me no evidence of the original loan.
"It's little wonder the prosecution say they are sceptical."
He added that the notebook found in her home had "all the hallmarks of a "steal to order situation" and was a "cause for concern."
However he said the fact she had obtained new, low paid work was "testament to your work ethic."
And he said had taken the decision that he was just about able to suspend her prison sentence.
She was sentenced to 12 months in prison suspended for 18 months.
She was also ordered to do 80 hours of unpaid work and 25 rehabilitation activity requirement days.
For the latest news and breaking news visit the LancsLive website.
To keep updated, follow LancsLive on Facebook and @LiveLancs on Twitter.
Get all the latest news, sport and what's on stories sent to your inbox daily with the LancsLive newsletter here.
Skelmersdale man jailed after being found with 32 wraps of heroin inside Kinder egg
Blackpool childcare experts give advice that could help every pregnant woman


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We are proud to be an active member of this community. SERVPRO of Renton is locally owned and operated, so we're already nearby and ready to help Renton, WA residents and business owners with any size cleaning or restoration emergencies.


text:
// Copyright 2017 The Chromium Authors. All rights reserved.
// Use of this source code is governed by a BSD-style license that can be
// found in the LICENSE file.

package org.chromium.chrome.browser.payments;

import android.content.Intent;
import android.content.pm.ResolveInfo;
import android.graphics.drawable.Drawable;
import android.text.TextUtils;
import android.util.Pair;

import org.chromium.components.payments.PaymentManifestDownloader;
import org.chromium.components.payments.PaymentManifestParser;
import org.chromium.components.payments.intent.WebPaymentIntentHelper;

import java.util.HashMap;
import java.util.List;
import java.util.Map;

/** Looks up installed third party Android payment apps. */
public class AndroidPaymentAppFactory implements PaymentAppFactoryInterface {
    // PaymentAppFactoryInterface implementation.
    @Override
    public void create(PaymentAppFactoryDelegate delegate) {
        AndroidPaymentAppFinder finder =
                new AndroidPaymentAppFinder(new PaymentManifestWebDataService(),
                        new PaymentManifestDownloader(), new PaymentManifestParser(),
                        new PackageManagerDelegate(), delegate, /*factory=*/this);
        finder.findAndroidPaymentApps();
    }

    /**
     * Checks whether there are Android payment apps on device.
     *
     * @return True if there are Android payment apps on device.
     */
    public static boolean hasAndroidPaymentApps() {
        PackageManagerDelegate packageManagerDelegate = new PackageManagerDelegate();
        // Note that all Android payment apps must support org.chromium.intent.action.PAY action
        // without additional data to be detected.
        Intent payIntent = new Intent(WebPaymentIntentHelper.ACTION_PAY);
        return !packageManagerDelegate.getActivitiesThatCanRespondToIntent(payIntent).isEmpty();
    }

    /**
     * Gets Android payments apps' information on device.
     *
     * @return Map of Android payment apps' package names to their information. Each entry of the
     *         map represents an app and the value stores its name and icon.
     */
    public static Map<String, Pair<String, Drawable>> getAndroidPaymentAppsInfo() {
        Map<String, Pair<String, Drawable>> paymentAppsInfo = new HashMap<>();

        PackageManagerDelegate packageManagerDelegate = new PackageManagerDelegate();
        Intent payIntent = new Intent(WebPaymentIntentHelper.ACTION_PAY);
        List<ResolveInfo> matches =
                packageManagerDelegate.getActivitiesThatCanRespondToIntent(payIntent);
        if (matches.isEmpty()) return paymentAppsInfo;

        for (ResolveInfo match : matches) {
            CharSequence label = packageManagerDelegate.getAppLabel(match);
            if (TextUtils.isEmpty(label)) continue;
            Pair<String, Drawable> appInfo =
                    new Pair<>(label.toString(), packageManagerDelegate.getAppIcon(match));
            paymentAppsInfo.put(match.activityInfo.packageName, appInfo);
        }

        return paymentAppsInfo;
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Three Castles was a medieval lordship in Monmouthshire, Wales, comprising the fortifications of Grosmont, Skenfrith and White Castle.

Three Castles or Threecastles may also refer to:
 Three Castles of Bellinzona, Ticino, Switzerland (namely Castelgrande, Montebello and Sasso Corbaro)
 Three castles of Husseren-les-Châteaux or Eguisheim, Haut-Rhin, Vosges, France (namely the Dagsburg, the Wahlenburg and Weckmund Castle)
 Three castles at Dahn, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany (namely Altdahn, Grafendahn, Tanstein)
 Threecastles Castle, Blessington, County Wicklow, Ireland.
 Threecastles, County Kilkenny, village in Ireland
 Three Castles Walk (disambiguation), various long-distance footpaths in Britain

See also
 Castle Three, British cycle car made 1919–1922

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
The Billionaire and the Terrorist
Two Norwegian celebrities cast their votes.
Bruce Bawer
On September 9, Norwegians will vote either to keep the government in the hands of a socialist coalition led by Labor Party Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg or to turn the reins over to non-socialists.
The campaign has drawn an unusual degree of international media attention. I wrote the other day about Time Magazine's report, with its shameless leftist slant. But though Time was particularly egregious, some other foreign media haven't been much better, depicting Stoltenberg & co. as a veritable Round Table of heroic knights (and ladies) and demonizing the classical-liberal Progress Party as a pack of fascists who, if handed power, will poison everything they touch.
Last week, for example, the Norwegian media gave prominent coverage to a hysterical warning by Richard Horton, editor of the Lancet, the British medical journal, that a socialist loss on September 9 might cause a world health crisis. Under the valiant Stoltenberg, you see, tiny Norway has become a ""global health...superpower,"" spreading largesse all over the planet and, in particular, donating more dough to the GAVI Alliance, an international health organization run by former Norwegian Labor Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland, than any other nation except Britain and France. Horton's article was a timely reminder that in recent years, while Norwegian hospitals have been forced to get by with increasingly antiquated equipment and Norwegians with serious health problems have been compelled to wait on line for months or even years to get urgently necessary tests and treatments, Labor Party leaders have been using taxpayer money to turn themselves into global players.
Horton wasn't the only public figure, however, to weigh in on the election last week. As it happens, two of Norway's most famous men also publicly declared their sympathies.
One of them was ninety-year-old Olav Thon, a real-estate developer and hotel magnate who is Norway's second richest citizen and biggest taxpayer. A self-made man, he's admired by many Norwegians for his down-to-earth image: his 2008 biography was titled Billionaire in an Anorak, reflecting the fact that his characteristic attire is not only modest but just this side of hobo. Thon maintains a flat in one of his hotels in downtown Oslo, and I've lost track of how many times I've seen him walking home down an icy sidewalk, laden with bags of groceries, the snow blowing in his face, a cheap-looking skicap pulled down over his head.
But he's not just a charming old fellow who believes in self-sufficiency and refuses to put on airs. He's a patriot who cares about his country's well-being -- –and a canny businessman who knows how economies work. In a nation where almost everyone who's given a soapbox is a cheerleader for the socialist status quo, Thon is an outspoken critic of socialism who once called Norway ""the last Soviet state."" A couple of months ago he commented publicly on the armies of drug dealers, gypsy beggars, and Nigerian prostitutes that dominate central Oslo, describing the spectacle as ""an exceptionally bad advertisement for Norway,"" and complaining that his own efforts to turn the neighborhood around (and alleviate the capital's housing crisis) have been squelched by city fathers who are more interested in preserving rundown old buildings than in revitalizing an urban area on the skids. It was a classic confrontation between the kind of left-wing thinking that destroyed Detroit and the kind of good sense that has made other cities thrive.
Last Tuesday, Thon ran a full-page ad in several national and local newspapers announcing that he'll be voting for the Progress Party. It wasn't a bombastic manifesto and it didn't read as if he'd gotten one of his people to write it for him. No, it was brief, plainspoken, to the point –-- and clearly from the heart. In seven bullet points, he expressed support for the Progress Party's desire to dismantle government bureaucracies, to introduce a ""sustainable immigration policy,"" and to encourage personal initiative rather than reliance on welfare.
The ad made headlines: it's not every day a Norwegian in the public eye admits to voting for the Progress Party. Do so, and you'll be branded a far-right bigot. (Voting Communist is OK; voting for the Progress Party, whose heroes are Reagan and Thatcher, is not.) Not that it came as a terribly huge surprise: last October Thon declared on TV that the socialist government had failed, that he'd like to see the Progress Party finally get a chance to show its stuff, and that he felt sorry for all the young people in Norway who –-- taking advantage of the Labor Party's generous welfare entitlements –-- spend their lives on the dole instead of working, because, he said, they'll never know what it feels like to see a dream fulfilled. (You don't hear this kind of language too often in the Norwegian media.)
Thon's announcement ruffled a lot of establishment feathers. In response to a threatened boycott of his hotels by farmers, Thon said it was unfortunate that in a democratic country one has to be prepared for reprisals if one makes public the fact that one isn't voting for Communists. The Rødt (Communist) Party answered Thon's ad with its own ad in the Communist daily Klassekampen, in which four Thon hotel chambermaids tell Thon that ""our sweat has made you rich."" And a close friend of Stoltenberg's launched a personal attack on Thon, calling him ""selfish"" for supporting the Progress Party. (The socialists routinely represent the choice between statism and freedom as one between solidarity and selfishness.) Thon took the attack philosophically, saying that this kind of dictatorial bullying will only intensify voter antipathy for the socialists.
There's only so much you can do to ruin a billionaire, but it's easy to punish an ordinary public employee who dares to criticize the current Norwegian regime. In a country where it's almost impossible to be fired from any job (especially with the government), a cop who's also an active Progress Party member called Stoltenberg a creep on Facebook and (according to media reports on Sunday) was summarily dismissed from the police force on the grounds that he failed ""to show loyalty to his foresatte"" -- –the latter being a word that's usually used to refer to a child's guardians.
The other famous man who announced his political preferences last week was Mullah Krekar –-- Norway's most celebrated resident terrorist and chief symbol of Muslim victimhood for the more misguided members of the nation's cultural elite. Since coming to Norway as a refugee in 1991, Krekar has openly acknowledged that he's at war with Western civilization, declared his admiration for Osama bin Laden, been named an active Al-Qaeda supporter by the UN, written his own autobiography, and warned that people will pay with their lives if he's expelled from Norway. At present, he's serving a five-year prison sentence for threatening to kill Conservative Party leader Erna Solberg. But since Norwegian law is concerned more with shielding terrorists than with protecting potential terror targets, efforts to ship him back to Iraq have consistently failed. (Last year, amid reports that he'd soon be returning to Iraq of his own volition, I bid him adieu here. But he stayed.)
The other day, from his cell, Krekar wrote a letter to Norwegian Muslims in which he began by rejecting the claim that it's un-Islamic for Muslims to participate in elections in non-Muslim countries. On the contrary, he insisted that Muslim voters are obligated under the Koran (specifically, verse 38 of sura 74) to cast their ballots for ""whatever is least harmful for Islam and Muslims."" Reminding his co-religionists that what matters is ""the teachings of Islam and the aspiration to restore Islamic rule and Sharia sovereignty,"" he expressed the belief that the Muslim umma, which for the last century and a half has been suffering as a result of civilizational conflict, will in the next 25 years ""produce something new for humanity."" And given that "Muslims in Norway aren't yet so numerous or so much in agreement that they can manage to form a party or to make common demands upon the politicians," he maintained that it's best – -- for now -- ""to vote for Labor, the Socialist Left, and the Red Party."" Why? Well, partly because Stoltenberg, unlike the non-socialists, isn't ""a blind follower"" of U.S. foreign policy. And partly because ""the left-wing parties come closer to Muslims' views.""
Like Thon's support of the Progress Party, Krekar's thumbs-up for the left didn't come as much of a surprise. Krekar, noted VG, wouldn't still be living in Norway if it weren't for the socialists' asylum policies; as the Progress Party's Per Sandberg put it, Krekar understands ""that a vote for the Labor Party is a vote to keep him in Norway,"" because the socialists ""will never forcibly return him [to Iraq]."" Meanwhile, one of Krekar's lawyers told TV2 that many Muslim voters will indubitably heed his advice when they head to the polls, because ""Krekar is an authority in his community and enjoys great respect.""
Officially, the Labor Party distanced itself from Krekar's endorsement; yet it knows there's plenty of potential Labor votes in the Muslim community and hasn't been shy about soliciting them. Last week, for example, aspiring young Labor politician Eskil Pedersen, the openly gay former head of the Workers' Youth League (the Party's junior varsity team, as it were), gave a speech at a mosque in which he urged Muslims to exercise their franchise. Pedersen is, it should be noted, the latest in an ever-growing list of openly gay Norwegian politicians to cheerfully encourage adherents of Islam --– a religion that, of course, calls for the execution of gays --– to do their utmost to bend the country to their will.
Anyway, there you have it. The choice facing Norwegian voters on September 9 was already a clear one. But the personal statements of Olav Thon and Mullah Krekar --– and the reactions thereto --– have, I think it's fair to say, helped to illuminate the whole business in an exceedingly useful way.
Freedom Center pamphlets now available on Kindle: Click here.
Tags: Conservative, Election, Immigration, Islam, Left, Norway
About Bruce Bawer
Bruce Bawer is the author of "While Europe Slept," "Surrender," "The Victims' Revolution," and "The Alhambra." "Islam," a collection of his essays on Islam, has just been published.


text:
Dil Tera Aashiq / Aatank Hi Aatank / Silsiilay DVD [3 in 1]
Dil Tera Aashiq DVD Rs.99
Dil Tera Aashiq / Deewana / Ek Hasina Thi DVD [3 in 1] Rs.38
Ghayal / Dil Tera Aashiq / Akhiyon Se Goli Maare DVD [3 in 1] Rs.38
Dil Tera Aashiq / Maharaja / Mumbai Se Aaya Mera Dost DVD [3 in 1] Rs.38
Zulm Ki Hukumat / Aatank Hi Aatank / Balwaan DVD [3 in 1] Rs.38
Dil Tera Aashiq / Kitne Door... Kitne Paas / Wajahh DVD [3 in 1] Rs.38
Dil Tera Aashiq / Dillagi / Dil Ki Baazi DVD [3 in 1] Rs.38
Dil Tera Aashiq / Andaz / Aankhen DVD [3 in 1] Rs.38
Dil Tera Aashiq / Barsaat / Dil Ki Baazi DVD [3 in 1] Rs.38
Dil Tera Aashiq / Yeh Raaste Hain Pyaar Ke / Mohabbat DVD [3 in 1] Rs.38
Dil Tera Aashiq / Dil Pardesi Ho Gayaa / Dil Pe Mat Le Yaar / Dilwaala DVD [4 in 1] Rs.38
Aatank Hi Aatank / Zulm Ka Baadshah / Johny Ustad DVD [3 in 1] Rs.38
Aatank Hi Aatank / Dhaal / Baazi DVD [3 in 1] Rs.38
Dil Tera Aashiq VCD Rs.34
Dil Tera Aashiq (1993)
Genre: Action, Drama, Romance
Cast: Salman Khan, Madhuri Dixit, Kader Khan, Asrani, Tej Sapru, Anupam Kher, Deepak Tijori, Mangal Dhillon, Shakti Kapoor, Anjana Mumtaz, Yunus Parvez, Guddi Maruti, Razak Khan, Ghanshyam Rohera, Piloo Wadia, Vikas Anand, Salim Khan Ding-Dong, Ramesh Goyal
Director: Lawrence D'Souza
Aatank Hi Aatank (1995)
Cast: Aamir Khan, Rajnikanth, Juhi Chawla, Archana Joglekar, Om Puri, Pooja Bedi, Dalip Tahil, Raza Murad, Kabir Bedi, Shiva Rindani, C S Dubey, Sameer Khakhar, Amrit Pal, Firoz Irani, Goga Kapoor, Vikas Anand, Girja Shankar, Bharat Kapoor, Joginder Shelly, Rita Bhaduri
Director: Dilip Shankar
Music Director: Bappi Lahiri
Silsiilay (2005)
Also Known As: Silsilay
Tabu enacts the role of Rehana - a housewife who must confront the fact that her husband is being unfaithful to her. The upcoming actor Kay Kay Menon enacts the role of the husband while Celina Jetley plays the third end of the tempestuous triangle.
Bhumika Chawla portrays Zia - a fast-rising bollywood actress whose live-in relationship is about to break-up with the man who groomed her for a film career, Rahul Bose plays the part of the mentor, while Divya Dutta features in a pivotal supporting role.
Riya Sen plays Anushka - a telephone receptionist who longs to discover tenderness in her relationship with a wealthy suitor, enacted by Ashmit Patel. Meanwhile, her office colleague, Jimmy Shergil, loves her silently. The working girl must decide between the two in a romantic finale, which has a twist in the tale. Nataasha features in an impactful role.
The three stories are weaved into a composite picture, with the women coming together in an act of solidarity.
Cast: Shahrukh Khan, Tabu, Rahul Bose, Bhoomika Chawla, Riya Sen, Jimmy Shergill, Ashmit Patel, Celina Jaitley, Kay Kay Menon, Divya Dutta, Rakesh Bedi, Anita Hassandani
Director: Khalid Mohamed
Music Director: Himesh Reshammiya
Label: Captain
Catalog No: CDVD S 442


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In 2001, Panama was removed from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) blacklist of noncooperative jurisdictions in the fight against money laundering. However, following the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States, Panama's international banking center was singled out in press reports both in the United States and Europe as a likely haven for some of Osama bin Laden's financial resources. Within weeks of the attacks, Panama's banking superintendent appeared to put to rest at least some of the allegations, following an investigation. Armed violence has increased significantly in Panama in the past several years, with weekend police checkpoints now commonplace both in Panama City and in crime-ridden Colon, although the country remains relatively safe when compared to many of its regional neighbors.
Panama was part of Colombia until 1903, when a U.S.-supported revolt resulted in the proclamation of an independent Republic of Panama. A period of weak civilian rule ended with a 1968 military coup that brought General Omar Torrijos to power.
After the signing of the 1977 canal treaties with the United States, Torrijos promised democratization. The 1972 constitution had been revised to provide for the direct election of a president and a legislative assembly for five years. After Torrijos's death in 1981, General Manuel Noriega emerged as Panamanian Defense Force (PDF) chief; he subsequently rigged the 1984 election that brought to power the Revolutionary Democratic Party (PRD), then the political arm of the PDF.
The Democratic Alliance of Civic Opposition (ADOC) won the 1989 election, but Noriega annulled the vote and declared himself head of state. He was removed during a U.S. military invasion, and ADOC's Guillermo Endara became president.
In 1994, the PRD capitalized on the Endara government's record of ineptness, and Ernesto Perez Balladares, a 47-year-old millionaire and former banker, won the presidency with 33.3 percent of the vote. The PRD won 32 of 71 seats in the legislative assembly and, with the support of allied parties that won 6 seats, achieved an effective majority.
Perez Balladares kept a campaign promise by choosing for his cabinet technocrats and politicians from across the ideological spectrum. However, his orthodox free market economic policies led to widespread protests in 1995 by labor unions and students. The president's popularity declined when the government met protests with harsh crackdowns.
During the 1994 campaign, Perez Balladares pledged to rid the country of drug influence. However, the PRD was accused of involvement in drug trafficking in the aftermath of the collapse of the Agro-Industrial and Commercial Bank of Panama (BANAICO) in January 1996. An investigation by the Banking Commission found accounts empty and $50 million unaccounted for, as well as evidence that the bank was a central money laundering facility. BANAICO was named in several U.S. drug investigations, including one involving Jose Castrillon Henao, a Colombian who was arrested in April 1996 as the reputed organizer of the Cali cartel's seagoing cocaine shipments to the United States. Alfredo Aleman, a board member of BANAICO, was a friend and top advisor to Perez Balladares and a major contributor to the party's 1994 campaign. Perez Balladares himself was forced to admit that his campaign unknowingly accepted a contribution from Castrillon Henao, who was in May 1998 extradited to Florida to stand trial for money laundering. The Perez Balladares administration further damaged its popularity when it restored government jobs and awarded a reported $35 million in back pay to former members of the Dignity Battalions, who had been Noriega's paramilitary enforcers.
In 1997, the son of a prominent PRD politician and two other Panamanians were found innocent of killing an unarmed U.S. soldier in 1992 in a trial plagued by political pressure and other irregularities. In August 1998, voters rejected by an almost two to one margin a referendum on a proposed constitutional amendment that would have enabled Perez Balladares, whose government was mired in censorship, corruption, and an increasingly tenuous claim to fidelity to the rule of law, to stand for reelection.
In May 1999, Mireya Moscoso, the widow of three-time president Arnulfo Arias and herself an unsuccessful presidential candidate in 1994, won 44.8 percent of the vote, more than 7 percent above the amount garnered by her rival and son of the late strongman, Martin Torrijos, as the head of a PRD-led coalition. Moscoso's coalition, the Union for Panama, won just 24 congressional seats as compared to the PRD's 38. However, she was able to forge a deal with a group of small parties to give her coalition a working majority. The Moscoso government moved quickly to overturn an attempt by Perez Balladares to pack the judiciary before he left office. It also sought to increase joint antinarcotics efforts with the United States, a partnership that had faltered under Perez Balladares.
Moscoso's government lost its razor-thin majority in congress at the end of her first year in office, after long-time opposition foes--the (PRD) and the Christian Democratic Party--signed a pact they said was designed to provide Panama with a strong congressional opposition. The newly invigorated opposition said that it was willing to cooperate with the government on economic reactivation, but that the government's lackluster performance proved the need for the opposition to head off the emergence of leaders such as former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori or Venezuela's Hugo Chavez by offering a viable alternative. In October 2000, the legislature strengthened laws against money laundering. In the year following the U.S. handover in 1999, the Panama Canal continued to operate smoothly, although the departure of the remaining U.S. troops and the closure of military bases meant the loss to Panama of some $250 million in revenues.
Repeated incursions into Panamanian territory by Colombian guerrillas continued to spark concerns in the region about the spillover effects of Colombia's civil war. Since being invaded by the United States in 1989, Panama has had no military. It relies on the police to provide both internal security and defense of its borders. Dozens of confrontations between armed Colombian groups and the Panamanian police, who suffered several injuries as a result of the fighting, raised questions about whether the latter are up to the challenge provided by the seasoned Colombians. Three months after Panama was placed on a Group of 7 blacklist of "noncooperative" banking havens, the congress approved a 21-point legislative amendment designed to combat hot-money transactions.
Following the discovery of four sets of human remains in exhumations at a former military base, in 2001 Moscoso created a truth commission to investigate the whereabouts of dozens of political dissidents who disappeared during the more than two decades of military rule. In March, the seven-member panel said that some 132 people had either disappeared or been murdered during that period. In August the port city of Colon was rocked by two days of rioting by a coalition of unemployed workers organizations, which accused the government of failing to live up to a promise to finance 46 public works projects there.
Panama's citizens can change their government democratically. The 1999 national elections were considered free and fair by international observers. The constitution guarantees freedom of political and civic organization. In early 1999, Panama's largest political parties agreed to ban anonymous campaign contributions in an effort to stem the infiltration of drug money into the political process. Following the May 1999 elections, 5 of the 12 political parties that had taken part were dissolved after they failed to win the five percent minimum required by electoral law.
The judicial system, headed by a supreme court, was revamped in 1990. It remains overworked, however, and its administration is inefficient, politicized, and prone to the corruption that appears to be endemic in broad sectors of public life. An unwieldy criminal code and a surge in cases, many against former soldiers and officials of the military period, complicate the judicial process. In February 1998 the supreme court declared unconstitutional the provisions that authorize the ombudsman's office to investigate the administration of justice, claiming that the watchdog agency's role violates the principle of judicial independence. In the final days of Ernesto Perez Balladares's presidency, a new three-person section of the supreme court was created. Perez Balladares said the new branch was needed to speed up the judicial process; opponents accused him of trying to pack the court so as to shield himself from corruption investigations.
The Panamanian Defense Force (PDF) was dismantled after 1989, and the military was formally abolished in 1994. However, the civilian-run Public Force (national police) that replaced the PDF, although accountable to civilian authorities through a publicly disclosed budget, is poorly disciplined and corrupt. Like the country's prison guards, officers frequently use "excessive force." In addition, the police have been ineffectual against the drug trade, as Panama remains a major transshipment point for both cocaine and illicit arms--drug seizures rose 70 percent in 2000--as well as a money laundering hub.
Panama's banking sector is composed of 87 banks with a total of $37 billion in assets. The legislation approved in October 2000 extended money laundering laws already on the books to cover revenues gained from arms trafficking, extortion, kidnapping, corruption, and auto theft. Prison sentences for money laundering were increased to a maximum of 12 years. The legislation also tightened know-your-client requirements and placed stricter reporting requirements on deposits of more than $10,000 in banking and financial institutions.
The penal system is marked by violent disturbances in decrepit facilities packed with up to eight times their intended capacity. About two-thirds of prisoners face delays of about 18 months in having their cases heard. Panama also continues to be a major transshipment point for illegal aliens seeking to enter the United States, including large numbers from Ecuador.
Panama's media are a raucous assortment of radio and television stations, daily newspapers, and weekly publications. Restrictive media laws dating back to the regime of General Manuel Noriega remain on the books, however. The law permits officials to jail without trial anyone who defames the government. Legal codes establish government control of work permits for journalists, strict defamation and libel rules, and a clause that permits reporters to be punished for "damaging the nation's economy" or national security. Public officials have recourse to a law that specifically allows them to file criminal charges against journalists who have published exposes or unflattering commentaries, and in 2001 some 70 such criminal cases were pending. The Organization of American States says it receives more complaints about the criminal prosecution of journalists from Panama than from any other government in the hemisphere.
Labor unions are well organized. However, labor rights were diluted in 1995 when Perez Balladares pushed labor code revisions through congress. When 49 unions initiated peaceful protests, the government cracked down in a series of violent clashes that resulted in four deaths and hundreds of arrests.
Since 1993, indigenous groups have protested the encroachment of illegal settlers on Indian lands and delays by the government in formally demarcating the boundaries of those lands. Indian communities do enjoy, however, a large degree of autonomy and self-government.


I worked as a graphic designer / multimedia specialist in an advertising company in Belgium for 14 years: Graphic design for online and offline media / Design, Development and follow-up E-letters / Teaching clients in updating website cms / Webdesign / Contact between client and webmaster.
During the years the job changed to a non-creative one . I took night classes at the academy of arts to develop artistic skills (oil painting, sculpting) and knowledge on art.
in 2016 I lost my job because of economical reasons. Being inspired by exhibitor Wacom on Facts I got introduced to the amazing possibilities of digital painting.
On the Star Wars Convention in London 2016, I got the chance to talk to Doug Chiang. I told him about my plans to attend a course of concept art, but that I was unsure if there still would be a future for me as a concept artist, having already a career behind me. He gave me the example of Ralph McQuarrie who started a 2nd career after Boeing. His words motivated me extra in my choice and so I went studying again, a fulltime course of concept art at the other side of my country. It was a steep learning curve, but I got through it and learned so much in that 1 year!
As students concept art 2016-2017 we got the assignment to develop concept art for a short movie, themed "Evolution". A pitchbook was part of the assignment and serves as a guide in the production of the movie. It's part of my portfolio with concept art for characters (unique bird species), setdesign (a special tree) and vehicle and props that belong to the main character "Bertil Bretel". My project "Game of fruits", is a nod to the tv-series "Game of Thrones", because of the fierce competition between my invented birds. When I presented this project to the jury, an external concept artist, he told me I had the strongest ideas of my class. It would be fantastic if my pitchbook for "Game of Fruits", would be actually used for a real animation movie. Producers or directors who are interested in my pitchbook, can always contact me!
I'm right now looking for a first experience as concept artist, to ultimately work on filmprojects / animations / theater / tv-series /. I'm a huge fan of film. I'm the person who remains in the cinema to see the credits.
Digital painting on wacom / Watercolor, oil, charcoal / Film & TV-series and extras VFX / Reading books that inspires me as a concept artist!
- > 1994 - 1997 Bachelor Degree in Graphic design, Ghent, Belgium - Learned how to realize detailed paintings in watercolor.
- > Artistic skills: Royal Academy of Arts in Oudenaarde. Certificate of Specialisation in Oil Painting in 2014 with exposition.
-> https://evivanca.blogspot.be my traditional made paintings/watercolors & collages.
"You work with fragments and collages. This fragmentation as a response or counterpart to the fragmentation and rapidity of our society, world and daily life. These fragments are like a jigsaw puzzle combined into a new form. These images are responses, thoughts, they are a process of searching and demand time, slowness and reflection. These important factors come to the surface by subtle shifts, elements being connected, folded, drawn on and painted. Your collages that were once a basis for your paintings are evolved to stand-alone mobiles, collage-sculptures and spatial paintings. As a viewer you become silent and astonished by your working process and the final images. I can get lost into your works and take my time. You have gone through a very personal and intense path wherein you developed a very own method."
Graphic design for online and offline media / Design & Development of E-letters / Training clients to update their website with cms / weekly advertisements newspaper & magazines / Webdesign: First years graphic design & programming websites with flash and html - later: graphic design for websites, programming by extern IT company - Job changed into serving as a contact between clients and IT-company, helpdesk and training cms.


text:
Family: Restionaceae R.Br.
Genus: Apodasmia B.G.Briggs & L.A.S.Johnson
Apodasmia similis (Edgar) B.G.Briggs & L.A.S.Johnson
This species is accepted, and its native range is New Zealand.
Full Distribution Listing
Native to:
Chatham Is., New Zealand North, New Zealand South
Has 1 Synonyms
Leptocarpus similis Edgar
Apodasmia similis (Edgar) B.G.Briggs & L.A.S.Johnson appears in other Kew resources:
Herbarium Catalogue (3 records)
Identified As
Colenso [s.n.], New Zealand North K000873645
Lyall, D. [s.n.], New Zealand South K000873646 holotype
s.coll. [s.n.], New Zealand K000873647
First published in Telopea 8: 22 (1998)
Govaerts, R. (2004). World Checklist of Monocotyledons Database in ACCESS: 1-54382. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
Herbarium Catalogue Specimens
'The Herbarium Catalogue, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet http://www.kew.org/herbcat [accessed on Day Month Year]'. Please enter the date on which you consulted the system.
Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Kew Backbone Distributions
© Copyright 2017 World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0


text:
Hear What Our Students and their Parents have to say....
"I just started dancing at Stars of Tomorrow and have had the best experience ever! I absolutely love the studio, the teachers and all the kids in it! I look forward to my classes every day! Since the first day at Stars of Tomorrow I have felt so welcomed. Every single person I've met is so beyond sweet. Dance is a part of who I am and I am so proud to say I dance at Stars of Tomorrow!" ~Grace Williams
"Karly has been dancing at Stars of Tomorrow Dance Academy for over 10 years. She is constantly surrounded by positive and influential role models and mentors, and has made solid friendships that will last a lifetime!" ~Jill D.
"My daughter, Taylor, has been dancing at Stars of Tomorrow Dance Academy since she was 2 ½ years old, and is in her 15th year of dancing there. My daughter, Kelsi, is also a dancer and has been dancing for 9 years. They have been inspired by Tanya to make dance such a part of their lives that they also dance with the competition team. Stars of Tomorrow Dance Academy has become their home away from home. From the girls they meet and the families we meet, it has been such a blessing to be a part of the studio and raise my daughters to do what they like best! Tanya is such a professional and runs the studio with such grace weather it is photo time, recital time, or competition time. Between her and her staff, you will always be handled in a professional manner. " ~Karen Smith
"We have been part of the SOTDA family for 10 years and it has been a great experience for my 3 daughters. This studio is about developing a dancer's potential in a nurturing and supportive environment where teachers, parents and all the students work together to create dancers who feel successful on the inside as well as on the outside. Wonderful friends and cherished memories have been created being a part of SOTDA and it truly is our second home." ~Suzie Lustig


NPS (Net Promoter Score) surveys are a quick and efficient means of measuring and understanding your net customer sentiment. In its purest and intended form, an NPS survey consists of two simple questions. The first is a scaling question, "On a scale of 0-10, how likely are you to recommend company/brand/product XYZ?" The second is an open invitation for comment, "Based on the feedback you just provided, what are the most important reasons for your score?" These questions drive direct feedback on customer experience and open the door for further conversation. Ultimately, NPS surveys provide a unique opportunity to win back customers with one foot out the door and empower you to ask for favors (like positive reviews or case studies) from customers that you know already love you. Here are three tips and tricks to help you leverage NPS surveys within ClickDimensions.
Note: This post provides custom code. ClickDimensions cannot support or troubleshoot use of this code, so if you need assistance implementing it, you will need to work with a web developer/designer on your team.
This article discusses how to change the rating star sprite to a like button in the ClickDimensions survey builder, and you can use the same concept to swap out the rating stars for numbers. That said, each number needs its own sprite, so the code will look a bit different.
For context, these are the number sprites I created for this survey.
You may note in the screenshot above that we asked for a rating of 1-10 but the scale runs from 0 to 10. In this case, the 0 stands in for the rating star's cancel icon. So, submitting a score of zero would be recorded as an unanswered question.
Sorting your respondents by their NPS status (detractor, neutral or promoter) and sending them a customized follow up allows you to intelligently respond to your customers in a meaningful way. Are they a detractor? Immediately begin the conversation by asking them, "How can we improve your experience?" Are they a neutral? Send them an email that asks, "How can we blow you away?" Are they already a promoter? Ask them to share their love for your company with the world! Send an email that contains a link to where they can leave you a public review.
To start, use a Submitted Survey trigger as an entry point for your campaign automation and associate the NPS survey you just built with the trigger.
Next, add three unique Send Email actions to the canvas and connect the entry point to each one of them. To keep things neat, rename your Send Email actions to match the audience each is intended for (detractors, neutrals and promoters). By connecting multiple actions to the same trigger, a decision node will be created. Click on the decision node to configure your conditions.
Decision nodes let you sort campaign automation participants by a number of criteria, including information found on inbound web content records associated with the campaign automation. So, under detractors, click Add Clause, and select your survey from the drop-down list. Detractors are anyone who gives a score of six or lower, so select the NPS Scale question and look for values less than seven.
In the same way, check for neutrals by looking for values that are greater than six and less than nine. Be sure to group both conditions with the And option.
Finally, promoters are anyone who gave a score greater than eight.
Altogether, respondents will be sorted into three groups based on the NPS scaling question. Hit Save & Close, and you're ready to publish and go live.
Bonus: On the same paths as your Send Email actions, you can use the Add To List action and the Notify Team or Notify User actions to sort your respondents into detractor, neutral and promoter marketing lists, and then notify different users or entire teams of a particular response.
The survey report tool in ClickDimensions is a great way to quickly report on all quantitative data collected in each survey. Simply navigate to the survey record and click the Survey Report button from the ribbon menu.
This pulls up a quick statistical analysis of all the rating questions in your NPS survey. At a glance, you can see the percentage breakdown of each rating option, the number of times each individual score was submitted, as well as the average overall score. Finally, if you want to do even more advanced reporting on this data, you can export this report to Excel by clicking the Export to Excel button at the bottom of the report.
Bonus: If you want to create advanced reports on this data within Dynamics, read this blog post on creating a survey reporting dashboard in CRM and check out the advanced find from this blog post on auditing unsubscribes with a survey for information on how to save a view of individuals' text responses in CRM.
Chris Fairfax is a ClickDimensions Product Consultant.


Waiting Result for 42th Batch MBA(Evening) Program.
Admission Notice for 42th Batch MBA(Evening) Program.
Subject Selection Notice For 42th Batch MBA(Evening) Program.
Final Selection Result for 42th Batch MBA(Evening) Program.
MBA (Evening) 42 batch Interview schedule of the candidates.
MBA(Evening) Program ৪২ তম ব্যাচের Primary Selection Result.
ADMISSION ANNOUNCEMENT FOR MBA (EVENING) 42nd BATCH.
MBA (Evening) Program Admission Test Waiting List for 41st Batch.
© 2016 Faculty of Business Studies, DU. All Rights Reserved.


There are three main groups of display list opcodes. There are also some modifiers which may be added to the basic opcodes, much like a sharp or flat may be added to a musical note. Just as certain notes may not have a sharp or flat added, certain display list opcodes may not have certain modifiers.
When ANTIC encounters one of these, it generates a certain number of blank scan lines, in the color and luminance of the background or border. It does not look to display memory or do anything else, it just generates blank scan lines. From 1 to 8 blank scan lines can be generated by these opcodes. The blank lines, like any display block, extend fully across the screen horizontally.
Modifiers: Only a display list interrupt modifier may be added to blanking opcodes.
When ANTIC encounters one of these, it fetches bytes from display memory, determines the graphics mode, and puts a display on the screen. A complete list of these opcodes is available in the previous chapter.
Modifiers: Horizontal scroll, vertical scroll, load memory scan and a display list interrupt modifiers may be added to these opcodes.
JMP is a JUMP for ANTIC. It tells ANTIC to continue looking for instructions at a different address. It is equivalent to a GOTO in the display list. It is followed by the 16 bit address of the next opcode.
JVB (Jump and wait for Vertical Blank) tells ANTIC to jump to the start of the display list, and wait for a new screen refresh to begin. It is followed by the 16 bit address of a display list to execute when the next screen refresh begins. You've seen this before, at the end of the graphics 0 display list.
Modifiers: Only a display list interrupt may be added to a jump opcode.
To add a modifier to a given opcode, just add the value given for that modifier to the base opcode, then use the total as the opcode.
This capability added to an instruction means that the display block may be horizontally scrolled. Add 10 hex or 16 decimal.
This capability allows smooth vertical scrolling. Add 20 hex or 32 decimal.
(A 3 byte instruction is implied if you use this modifier.) This tells ANTIC where to find display memory, and resets ANTIC's pointer to the location, losing the current display memory pointer location. Add 40 hex or 64 decimal to the opcode.
The execution of this instruction causes ANTIC to force the 6502 to generate an interrupt. The interrupt service routine will be at the address pointed to by memory locations 200, 201 hex (512, 513 decimal).
We have covered "playfield graphics" (or graphics generated by the display list), ANTIC, and CTIA hardware in some depth. You now know how to generate some amazing graphics.
There is much information to present here. We will give lots of examples and ideas for their use to help you understand. The ANTIC opcodes allow you to mix graphics modes, to program display memory for mixed modes, and to format display memory.
In the next section, we will cover display list interrupts and color handling in detail as a method for achieving 128 colors on the screen at the same time. The actual goal (the 128 shades of color) is not nearly as important as the method behind it, but without the end point to work towards, the information presented is not useful or functional. By the end of the section, you will be able to generate the 128 color display and you will also have a good idea of how the Atari handles color.
After we cover display list interrupts, we will examine Player-Missile graphics. This is a separate graphics generation system that is independent of display lists and other special graphics features of the Atari. Player-Missile graphics allow high speed animation.


's fin soup at its new theme park.
Hong Kong Disneyland, which opens in September, will serve the soup at wedding banquets and special events.
But campaigners say millions of sharks are killed each year for their fins, driving some species closer to extinction.
However, Disney says it is simply being respectful to local culture.
It is traditional in Chinese society to offer the clear, glutinous broth on important occasions.
Although the fin is almost tasteless, in southern China it is regarded as a luxury.
Environmental groups such as Greenpeace and the Worldwide Fund for Nature warn that sharks are some of the most over-exploited species on earth.
According to the BBC, they are urging Disney to take the soup of its menu and to more to help educate the public about the issues.
Disney has rejected the complaints, claiming that the dish is an integral part of any Chinese banquet.
The company says it takes environmental stewardship very seriously.
Activists are threatening to mount a global boycott against Disney if it insists on serving the soup.