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Workplace Response to Internet Exploitation of Children
In a recent press announcement, Internet Service Providers AOL, Yahoo!, Microsoft, EarthLink, and United Online have formed a Technology Coalition at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to battle child exploitation on the Internet. This latest effort at computer industry self-regulation by some of the largest ISPs suggests that the fight against child exploitation may soon migrate to the workplace.
Executives responsible for determining electronic use policies at private and public companies may want to consider reviewing and adopting measures taken by the coalition.
Computer Industry Self-Regulation
Historically -- due to commercial and privacy concerns -- the computer industry has been reluctant to pledge the level of cooperation identified in the recent announcement. ISPs have, however, provided measured assistance to law enforcement efforts over the years. For example, since 1996 ISPs have removed over 20,000 pornographic images of children from the Web.
Under current federal law, The Child Protector and Sexual Predator Punishment Act of 1998, ISPs are required to report known incidences of child pornography to authorities. Although ISPs are not required by law to actively monitor customers or sites, members of the Technology Coalition have expressed the intent to do so.
The Technology Coalition's "aggressive new campaign" has four principle objectives:
Developing and implementing technology solutions that can detect and disrupt the known images of child pornography on the Internet;
Improving knowledge sharing among industry by establishing a central clearinghouse for known images of child pornography;
Improving law enforcement tools that can assist in the location and identification of predators and distributors of child pornography; and
Researching perpetrators -- technologies to enhance industry efforts.
Although specific program details of new technology coalition are not available, the group's objectives indicate a proactive approach in dealing with the problem. According to an executive at AOL, such measures may include scanning email attachments, web uploads, and instant messages.
Workplace Responses
In addition to industry self-regulation, workplace responses have been identified by law enforcement as a major strategy to reduce child pornography on the Internet. Many workplaces maintain their own web and email servers that allow employees to access and store data on their work computers. As a result, work computers are frequently implicated in incidents involving child pornography.
Child exploitation is not confined to a single profession or industry. In the United States alone, around 1,000 individuals are convicted of child exploitation crimes each year. There is thus an abundance of judicial precedent establishing that employees in both the public and private sector have no legitimate objective expectation of privacy from their employer when it comes to their work computers.
Employers who wish to participate in the fight against child exploitation will soon have the tools to do so, courtesy of the Technology Coalition. Microsoft is among the ISPs in the coalition, and it is entirely possible that anti-child pornography tools could be integrated as features in the new Windows Vista operating system, or come bundled in a Microsoft Outlook or Explorer security update pack.
There are several workplace strategies recommended by the Department of Justice which may be implemented to deter and alter the behavior of potential offenders:
Adopting and enforcing computer use policies.
Corporate use policies often contain broad prohibitions on pornography and sending photo attachments by email. In organizations that regularly use images for legitimate purposes, such a blanket prohibition may not be practical. Companies need to balance workplace effectiveness with their community responsibility response.
Auditing computer usage.
Many employers have existing ways to audit computer usage. The coalition's expected technical solutions include scanning email and email attachments for known images of child pornography. Such system would include some form of tagging that would be updated on a regular basis. It seems likely that workplace system administrators could install the new updates and scan their mail server's incoming and outgoing communications for offending materials.
Filtering web usage.
Employers routinely engage in web-filtering practices that restrict the sites employees may visit. For example, some workplaces block access to free web email accounts so that employees cannot circumvent the company's official email systems.
If your workplace needs a compelling reason to implement technologies recommended by the coalition, consider that the campaign against child exploitation is a key priority in federal law enforcement, the judiciary and the legislature.
Over the past twenty years, the Supreme Court has issued a string of opinions that have paved the way for private industry's action against child pornography. In New York v. Ferber, the court held that child pornography does not enjoy First Amendment protection under the Constitution. In US v. Dost, the definition of child pornography was expanded to include sexually suggestive depictions of a lascivious nature. In Osborne v. Ohio, the private possession of child pornography was deemed to be illegal.
In addition to the judiciary's prescriptions against child pornography, there has been almost thirty years of federal legislation targeting child exploitation, including:
The Sexual Exploitation of Children Act of 1978
The Child Protection Act of 1984
The Child Protection and Obscenity Enforcement Act of 1988
The Child Pornography and Protection Act of 1996
The Child Protector and Sexual Predator Punishment Act of 1998
Potential Hurdles
As noted above, details of the industry initiatives have not been fully disclosed. However, the general idea of a central database of known pornographic images of children does raise privacy and due process questions. These potential issues become especially serious if the database will be used to detect, identify and criminally prosecute individuals who may or may not be actually engaged in illegal activities.
One such issue involves "virtual child pornography," or models that appear to be minors. The Supreme Court has recently addressed virtual child porn in Ashcroft v. Free Speech Coalition, holding that virtual images of children are not included in the definition of child pornography. What if such virtual depiction is wrongfully identified and included in the database? The issue of "false positives" looms as a very real hurdle for a database of kiddy porn.
The industry coalition could avoid this issue by implementing an administrative appeals process or some other way to remove false positives from the database. While a due process argument would not work against private industry ISPs, who are not state actors, the argument could be raised in the likely event that the industry collaborated with a government agency to populate the image database.
Of course, the vast majority of employers would not care whether or a particular sexually explicit image is or is not child pornography. In either event, an employee caught with such an image would be violating a broadly-drafted computer use policy's prohibition against pornography.
"False positives," or images mistakenly marked as child pornography, raise a more serious issue for employees. For example, detection of a false positive could mean the difference between censure from the employer and criminal prosecution for possession of child pornography.
While elimination of child pornography from the Internet is impossible, workplaces can take steps to reduce the volume by making it more difficult to access.


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Take a look at a selection of our recent media coverage:
Adding salt to food frequently increases risk of premature death
Frequently adding salt to food increases the risk of premature all-cause mortality and a lower life expectancy in both sexes
Individuals who frequently add salt to food have a higher risk of a premature death and a lower life expectancy according to an analysis of data in the UK Biobank by a group of US researchers from Boston.
According to the World Health Organisation, the intake of dietary salt (sodium chloride) is an important determinant of blood pressure, hypertension and overall cardiovascular risk and the organisation recommends a salt intake of less than 5 grams (approximately 2g sodium) per day, for the prevention of cardiovascular diseases. However, several studies examining the relationship between salt intake and cardiovascular disease are conflicting. For example, one study concluded that there was an increased risk of mortality for high-sodium intake even at the lowest levels of sodium intake. In contrast, another reported that changes in systolic but not diastolic pressure over time aligned with change in sodium excretion, but this did not translate into a higher risk of hypertension or cardiovascular disease complications. Similarly, in a study of older adult's salt intake, the authors concluded that food frequency questionnaire-assessed sodium intake was not associated with 10-year mortality, incident cardiovascular disease or incident heart failure, adding that consuming greater than 2300 mg/d of sodium was associated with a non-significantly higher mortality in adjusted models. The reason for these discrepant findings are unclear though in a 2014 advisory from the American Heart Association, it was suggested that methodological issues may account for the inconsistent findings in currently available observational studies relating sodium to cardiovascular disease.
While salt is present in many foods, adding salt to food is a common eating behaviour and a single study has suggested that adding salt to food was strongly positively associated with all-cause, cancer-related, but not cardiovascular-related mortality. Thus in the present study, the US team wanted to get a better understanding of whether the frequency of adding salt to food influenced the risk of premature death but also if other dietary effects such as fruit and vegetable intake might affect this risk. Using a questionnaire that asked 'do you add salt to your foods?', the researchers categorised intake as either never/rarely, sometimes, usually and always. They were also able to access data on random urine samples collected at baseline to measure sodium and potassium levels and also collected information on intake of fruits and vegetables (from the questionnaire) as well as lifestyle and clinical factors such as smoking status, physical activity, body mass index etc.
Adding salt to food and mortality
Data were available for a total of 501, 379 individuals with a mean age of 56.5 years (45.6% male). During a follow up period of 9 years, there were 18,474 cases of all-cause premature deaths recorded.
Not surprisingly, there was a graded relationship between the urinary sodium concentration and self-reported adding of salt to food.
In terms of mortality, there was an increasing risk with higher levels of reported addition of salt to food. For those who always added salt to food, there was a 28% higher risk (hazard ratio, HR = 1.28, 95% CI 1.20 – 1.35). In fully adjusted models, the risk of cardiovascular disease mortality was significantly elevated for those who always added salt to food (HR = 1.36, 95% CI 1.21 – 1.54, ptrend < 0.001) and for cancer-related death (HR = 1.64). Interestingly, however, a higher intake of fruit and vegetables attenuated the risk of premature all-cause premature mortality (HR = 0.97, 95% CI 0.69 – 1.37, p = 0.90).
The authors calculated that for a woman aged 50 who always added salt to food, had an average 1.5 lower years of life expectancy and this was higher for men (2.28 years).
They concluded that while always using salt at the table was associated with a higher risk of all-cause premature mortality, higher intake of fruits and vegetables may attenuate this risk.
Ma H et al. Adding salt to foods and hazard of premature mortality Eur Heart J 2022

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Home>articles>90 ball bingo
90 Ball Bingo
/ July 09, 2020
Any bingo enthusiast knows that there are a great number of versions of this fun and exciting game. The biggest difference will tend to be the number of balls that are used. 90-ball bingo uses the most balls as opposed to other forms that employ 75 balls, 80 balls or 30 balls. So, it will also stand to reason that the ninety-ball version will generally take the longest to play (while offering some of the largest rewards). Let us take a quick look at how this version operates and why it is so popular.
Three Stages
Due to the high number of balls, this game is played in three different stages. These are known as:
One line.
Two lines.
In the one-line portion, the player will need to complete a horizontal line across one card (in other words, fill in five boxes on a single line). So, it only makes sense that in the two-line round, two full lines need to be accounted for (ten numbers in total). However, these horizontal lines to not necessarily have to be next to one another. In the final "full house" stage, all of the numbers on the board will need to be filled in.
Prize Splits
In most versions of ninety-ball bingo, the winner of each stage will be awarded a certain prize. These can include money, free plays or access to hidden games. However, the full house stage is always the portion that rewards the largest amount of prizes. This is primarily due to the fact that it is quite difficult to completely block off every number. As with the majority of other forms of these games, the funds from a round that no one has won will be carried over into the next round. So, a substantial amount of money can be awarded in instances when no one has claimed a win for a long period of time.
These are some of the main aspects that have allowed ninety-ball bingo to become so very popular. However, the Internet has now given rise to even more engaging versions. Although the concept will still be the same, the games themselves will tend to be highly interactive and players can easily spend hours enjoying a fast-paced round of bingo. With the possibility of winning valuable prizes, ninety-ball bingo will certainly continue to attract enthusiasts from around the world.
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Reads the external operator's message history data. Please use this function for Series 30i, 0i-D/F and PMi-A.
The unit of one external operator's message history data is called a record.
The message history data is acquired in old order.
Pointer to the ODBOMHIS2 structure in which the alarm history data is stored. The ODBOMHIS2 structure is as follows.
The last character is 'NULL(\0)'.
Size of ODBOMHIS2 structure(length) is wrong.


Join us for the fifth installment of our yearlong initiative, The Future of Your Neighborhood: Who Decides? This ongoing monthly series invites New Yorkers to effectively envision and enact their advocacy skills through open dialogue, and to address their neighborhood concerns.
On October 24th we'll learn to navigate the ins and outs of local government. What in the world is a District Leader? Who is my State Senator and what does he/she do? Why should I vote in New York instead of my home state? More importantly, why should I care about any of this? If you've ever asked yourself these kinds of questions, this workshop is for you.
Election day is just around the corner, and there's much more at stake this year than the Presidential race. Meanwhile, NYC is gearing up to elect a new mayor and at least 22 of the city's 51 Councilmembers in 2013. Join Lincoln Restler, outgoing Democratic District Leader from the 50th Assembly District, to learn all about local government in New York, who is responsible for what kinds of decisions, and most crucially, why it's important to vote local. Become an informed citizen with your friends at Flux Factory!
This educational initiative is organized by Christina Vassallo, Douglas Paulson and Lacey Tauber.


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Orelská pouť na Svatém Hostýně je pouť, kterou od 1930 každoročně pořádá na Svatém Hostýně sportovní organizace Orel. Její tradice byla dvakrát přerušena: za druhé světové války, kdy Orel a jeho poutě zakázali nacisté, a za komunistického režimu, kdy oboje zakázali komunisté.

Za první republiky čítala účast na poutích řádově desetitisíce lidí, po obnovení poutí po pádu komunistického režimu se účastní tisíce poutníků. Jde tedy o jednu z největších každoročně pořádaných hromadných celostátních poutí v České republice. V roce 2008 bylo před hlavní částí poutě poprvé zorganizováno i setkání orelské mládeže.

Z historického hlediska je velmi významná pouť z roku 1948 (poslední před likvidací Orla komunisty), které se zúčastnily desetitisíce orlů a která představuje poslední velkou akci Orla před jeho likvidací a jednu z největších demonstrací odporu proti nastupujícímu komunistickému režimu.

Odkazy

Související články
 Orel (spolek)
 Hostýn
 Orelská pouť na Svatém Hostýně (1948)

Externí odkazy
 Orelská pouť na Svatý Hostýn
 Jan Fical: Již popatnácté od pádu totality se orlové sjeli na Hostýn - fotorepotáž z pouti v roce 2004; (ChristNet.cz, 25. 8. 2004)

Reference

Římskokatolická církev v Česku
Poutě
Chvalčov
Bystřice pod Hostýnem

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


2. It is He Who has taught the Quran.
12. Also corn with (its) leaves and stalk for fodder, and sweet-smelling plants.
14. He created man from sounding clay like unto pottery.
27. But will abide (forever) the Face of thy Lord, full of Majesty, Bounty and Honor.
29. Of Him seeks (its needs) every creature in the heavens and on earth: every day in (new) Splendor doth He (shine)!
41. (For) the sinners will be known by their Marks: and they will be seized by their forelocks and their feet.
43. This is the Hell which the Sinners deny.
47. Then which of the favors of your Lord will ye deny?
49. Then which of the favors of your Lord will ye deny?
51. Then which of the favors of your Lord will ye deny?
57. Then which of the favors of your Lord will ye deny?
60. Is there any Reward for Good--other than Good?
63. Then which of the favors of your Lord will ye deny?
64. Dark green in color (from plentiful watering).
71. Then which of the favors of your Lord will ye deny?
73. Then which of the favor of your Lord will ye deny?
75. Then which of the favors of your Lord will ye deny?


In September 2016 he asked if John Campbell and the rest of Are You Experienced? would join him as his band for the tour?
More recently, 2018 the band have appeared yet again on Leon's latest theatre tour of the UK.


MOVIE SYNOPSIS: You can watch Theatre and Me's the Bully, full movie on FULLTV - Film of Marcus A Siler. The premiere took place in 2015, with a production coming from USA. You are able to watch Theatre and Me's the Bully online, download or rent it as well on video-on-demand services (Netflix, HBO Now), pay-TV or movie theaters with original audio in English. This film has been premiered in theaters in 2015 (Movies 2015). The official release in theaters may differ from the year of production.
The 100-minute film (full movie) was directed by Marcus A Siler.
The original audio of Theatre and Me's the Bully has dialogues in Dolby Digital. The film was produced in USA.
Screenplay written by Marcus A Siler.
Artina Nimpson and Natalie Fava.
As usual, the director filmed the scenes of this film in HD video (High Definition or 4K) with Dolby Digital audio. Without commercial breaks, the full movie Theatre and Me's the Bully has a duration of 100 minutes. Possibly, its official trailer stream is on the Internet. You can watch this full movie free with Dolby Digital or English subtitles on movie TV channels, renting the DVD or with VoD services (Video On Demand player, Hulu) and PPV (Pay Per View, Netflix Movies, Amazon Prime Video).
See the page of this full movie, Theatre and Me's the Bully in FULLTV Movies.


This past week was not that much fun, and way too hot. Today, therefore, I'm just blowing off steam. Everyone needs to do that sometimes.
OK, so I do it a lot. Don't judge me.
Hey! How! Are! You! Today!
GIF found on Twisted Sifter.
Andale, Mitch! I need to get to PetSmart at least by nightfall!
Whoa … I am really on a roll now!
I shall seduce them with the power of dance, and then I shall have all the Beggin' Treats!
GIF found on Team Jimmy Joe.
You won't play patty-cake with me? Fine! I'll do it myself!
I really, really hope the dog's name is George (as in H.W. Bush). It would be rather fitting.
GIF found on JC's Village.
Am I not hitting it hard enough? Daaaad!
GIF found on Great Cats Be Funny.
These guys are gonna be a while. I'll just wait here.
GIF found on Odyssey Online.
I'm not inbred! Stop saying that!
The Penguin Apocalypse is here! Run!
That's it for today, people. Show yourselves out.
Are you still blowing off steam Brenda? Are you steamless yet?
Stir fried rice noodles sounds good. I will have to try to find a recipe and make it.
Look for mei fun (or maifun) recipes. Sometimes the noodles are a little hard to track down, but I love them. The restaurant nearest me that used to do a really great mei fun closed, so I have to go elsewhere or try to make it myself. The rice noodles are easy on my stomach, so bonus!
Speaking of rice, I lived in a house on Rice Street for a few years. A friend jokingly told me that I lived on the correct street as in the rice street instead of the left street.
He'll be here all week, folks!
This friend moved to Illinois many years ago. He now lives in the suburbs of Atlanta in the congressional district which used to be represented by Newt Gingrich when he was Speaker of the Swamp otherwise known as the U.S. House of Representatives.


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Home » INTERNATIONAL » Radio Exchanges Reveal Iran-UK Confrontation
Radio Exchanges Reveal Iran-UK Confrontation
Tehran/London: A recording has emerged of radio exchanges between a Royal Navy frigate and Iranian armed forces vessels, moments before a British-flagged oil tanker was seized in the Gulf. In the recording, what is thought to be an Iranian vessel can be heard telling HMS Montrose, it wants to inspect the tanker for security reasons, reported the BBC.
In the radio recording, which was obtained by the British maritime security firm Dryad Global, the Iranian vessel can be heard telling a ship – thought to be the Stena Impero – to change its course, saying: "If you obey you will be safe." HMS Montrose then identifies itself and tells the Stena Impero: "As you are conducting transit passage in a recognised international strait, under international law your passage must not be impaired, impeded, obstructed or hampered."
The frigate then asks the Iranian vessel to confirm it is not "intending to violate international law" by attempting to board the tanker. The Stena Impero was seized by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard on Friday in a key shipping route in the Gulf. Tehran said the vessel was "violating international maritime rules". Footage emerged on Saturday appearing to show the moment the tanker was raided. It was released by Iran's Revolutionary Guard-affiliated Fars news agency. It shows masked forces dropping down ropes on to the ship from a helicopter after it was surrounded by high-speed vessels.
HMS Montrose was alerted and raced to intervene, as it did – successfully – with another British-flagged tanker just over a week ago. But this time it was too far away to stop the Stena Impero being seized – the tanker was already in Iranian waters. Iran's IRNA news agency said the tanker was captured after it collided with a fishing boat and failed to respond to calls from the smaller craft. But Hunt said it was seized in Omani waters in "clear contravention of international law" and then forced to sail into Iran. (IANS)
Also Read: Iran Seizes British Oil Tanker, UK Vows 'Serious' Consequences
TagsIran
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Well, this is certainly one way to buy in bulk.
They say to save the best for last, especially when it comes to dessert. But now we have another sizeable and satisfying excuse to make room after the turkey and dressing: pumpkin pie cheesecake.
This isn't just any old plain cheesecake infused with your favorite fall-inspired flavor. No, Sam's Club just unveiled huge slices of heaven in the form of a 72-ounce cheesecake. Translation: 4 pounds of melt-in-your-mouth decadence, complete with a silky pumpkin-swirled filling, toasted walnuts, and a crumbly graham cracker crust. Not to mention, this New-York style cheesecake is topped with whipped cream, because a dollop of the sweet and billowy condiment just makes everything better, don't you agree?
But Sam's Club sweet offering isn't just massive in size and weight. The cheesecake also boasts 14 slices, nearly double what the average cheesecake has. To put it into perspective, a typical cheesecake sold in grocery stores is about 34-35 ounces and features eight slices. Which basically makes this crowd-pleaser perfect for serving a second helping to hungry guests.
While you're shopping for that bulk of toilet paper and bargain beauty supplies, make sure you throw in this big-batch dessert for good measure. Trust us, it's absolutely worth trading in your pumpkin pie for this Thanksgiving.
Double the creaminess, double the deliciousness. This pumpkin pie cheesecake is available now through Thanksgiving under the club's private label, Member's Mark. But no one will judge you if you can't wait until Turkey Day to indulge. Luckily, you can take advantage of this special promotion to save more money on this tasty fall treat.
The cheesecake should be kept frozen, and it will last up to 365 days in the freezer. We don't know about you, but a year of gorging on this velvety smooth and rich dessert sounds pretty good to us.


As a political ecologist, Catherine Corson uses ethnography to explore questions of power, knowledge, and justice in case studies from rural villages to international policy arenas. Her current research focuses on the rise of market-based environmentalism, popular resistance to it, and associated shifts in environmental governance.
Her new book, Corridors of Power: The Politics of Environmental Aid to Madagascar, published by Yale University Press, uses the history and politics of U.S. Agency for International Development's environmental program in Madagascar as a case study of the forty-year transformation of environmental governance under neoliberalism and its relationship to shifting resource rights and access in the Global South.
Her new National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded research uses a method called Collaborative Event Ethnography to adapt "traditional" ethnographic methods to study how environmental conferences precipitate paradigm shifts in global conservation. In 2012, she and Mount Holyoke students studied activist strategies during the preparatory process for the 2012 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), and in 2016, she and a new group of students examined political strategies to protect indigenous and other marginalized peoples' resource rights in conservation at the 2016 World Conservation Congress.
Her research has been supported through grants and fellowships from a number of organizations in addition to the NSF, including the American Association of University Women, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the American Council of Learned Societies, the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars and the U.S. Fulbright program. She has published in numerous journals such as Society and Natural Resources, the Journal of Peasant Studies, Human Geography, Global Environmental Politics, and Antipode.
At Mount Holyoke, Corson teaches courses such as Political Ecology; Environment and Development; Science, Power and Environmental Governance; and Research, Ethics and Policy. With an interdisciplinary academic training, which has spanned biology, public policy, economics and political ecology, she has a strong commitment to multidisciplinary collaboration in research and teaching. A decade of prior professional experience in environment and development policy, politics and consulting inspires her focus on teaching students how to translate their academic learning into professional policy skills. Finally, fieldwork on indigenous and local resource rights in both the Global North and South, combined with professional experience in international development, underpins a strong interest in environmental justice and development studies.
She has worked with a number of independent study and honors thesis students on topics such as food justice, indigenous rights, community conservation and forestry, carbon credit trading, foreign aid and community development, and global environmental politics.
She has also been actively involved in building Mount Holyoke's international and domestic environment and community development programs and in helping students to build synergies between their academic learning and practical experiences in Mount Holyoke's dynamic community-based learning programs, study abroad, internships and social change programs.


Principal Mrs Veena Chopra addressed the students of 12th class and Wished them Good Luck for their practical and the final examinations. In her address, she advised the children to go fully prepared to take their exams as Hardwork leads to Confidence and confidence turns Hardwork into desired result. She also advised them to work and prove themselves as useful citizens of society in their future life.


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Rex Allen Bumgarner
Rex A. Bumgarner, 78, died May 5, 2020. He was born Aug. 14, 1941, in Springfield to Richard and Fay Bumgarner. After graduating from high school in 1959, he enlisted in the U. S. Navy and served as a boiler tender on the U.S.S. Amphion.
He married Wanda Jo Carr Dec. 17, 1960, and they resided in Norfolk, Va., until his honorable discharge from the Navy in 1962.
After moving back to Springfield, he earned a bachelor's degree in agriculture from Southwest Missouri State College while working the night shift at Kraft Foods.
He was self-employed most of his life, and in partnership with his wife, started and operated several businesses, in addition to farming, during their 60-year marriage. Together they raised four children on a farm in northwest Greene County.
Rex was a hard worker but when he did take time to relax he enjoyed being at the lake with his grandchildren, riding motorcycles and reading at length on topics that interested him. He was a member of the Blue Knights law enforcement motorcycle club and served as a reserve deputy with the Greene County Sheriff Department.
He is survived by his wife; daughter Felicia Bumgarner and husband Bobby Johnson of Niangua; son Charles Bumgarner and wife Trudy of Springfield; daughter Teresa Bledsoe of Springfield; daughter Candace Bumgarner of Tulsa; grandson Nathan Wilson and wife Nicole; grandson Cody Wilson and wife Ashley; grandson Grant Bledsoe and wife Melissa; grandsons Jett Bumgarner and Cole Feese; granddaughter Baylee Feese; and great-grandchildren Jaxson, MacKenzie and Cameron Wilson.
He is also survived by brother Randy Bumgarner and wife Rosie of Bolivar; brother Roger Bumgarner of Bolivar; and sister Chris Carter and husband Edward of Willard. Many other family and friends will also mourn his loss.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial contributions be made to the maintenance fund for Robberson Prairie Cemetery, c/o Vernetta Sare, 3027 W. Farm Road 38, Willard, MO 65781. No visitation or service is planned due to current circumstances caused by coronavirus.
Sheila McMullin Cook
Robyn Stock
Rex A. Bumgarner, 78, died May 5, 2020. He was born Aug. 14, 1941, in Springfield to Richard and Fay Bumgarner. After graduating from high school in 1959, he enlisted in the U. S. Navy and served as a boiler tender on the U.S.S. Amphion. He married Wanda Jo Carr Dec. 17, 1960, and they…
Cathy Powell left a message on May 9, 2020:
Teresa-So sorry about your Dad-it is never easy losing a parent at any time, especially now. Know you and your family will miss him a lot. Hope you are doing as well as possible at this emotional and difficult time.
Sheila McMullin Cook left a message on May 8, 2020:
I hope his favorite relative or friend was there to meet him when he entered Heaven's gates.
Candace, Wanda and family, I am truly sorry Rex had to go. I remember being at your house as a little girl, and he just smiled a lot and let us play in the empty silos, which I thought was great! He was still smiling the last time I saw he and Wanda at the car wash. Love and prayers for your sweet family.
Madelynn Innes left a message on May 7, 2020:
Teresa, you're in my thoughts and prayers. I'm sorry for your loss!
Randy D Calhoun left a message on May 7, 2020:
5339 West Farm Rd 36 I am very sorry to hear that Rex has passed and will remember all of the great times I was able to share with Rex and family. I know that Rex is rejoicing in Heaven with his parents Richard and Fay which we all missed as well. To the family I want you to know we are praying for comfort and healing during this tough time. Randy and Wendy Calhoun
Peace of mind is a call away. We're here when you need us most.
Jane Freeman left a message on May 7, 2020:
I am so sorry for your loss. May God send down his angels to wrap their wings around you and your family to give you peace and comfort. May your brother RIP.
Robyn Stock left a message on May 6, 2020:
So sorry for your loss. Prayers for all of your family! Love, Robyn & Patrick Stock
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Power Painter – Merge Tower Defense Game
Power Painter – Merge Tower Defense Game is a Simulation, Adventure, and Single-player video game developed by Chimp Works for Android and iOS. Throughout the game, the player has to fight enemies and bosses by throwing colorful balls at them. All a player needs to do is merge all towers, shoot the paintball bubbles, and make the whole screen colorful… read more
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#1 Jump Gunners
Jump Gunners is an Action, Side-Scrolling, Platform, and Single-player video game developed by NerdRage Studios. All through the game, the player has to control a character where mission is to shoot all the standing enemies on the way. The game features both solo and multiplayer modes with similar gameplay to other games.
Classic last man standing, team deathmatch, and capture the flag are the playable modes for the player. In the last man standing, out of thousands of players, only survival will get the crown. Capture the flag mode lets the player eliminate all the appeared teams before they do. The game has mini-games where the player can have fun with friends.
Over 20 top weapons, including Sniper Rifles, Flamethrowers, Rocket Launchers, Gauss Rifles, and much more, are there to experience. Over 80 levels with unique challenges always keep the player in trouble and enhance his shooting skills. It is easy to play but hard to master all the levels. The game has core features such as 80 Levels, 20 Weapons, Abilities, and Customization.
More About Power Painter – Merge Tower Defense Game
Power Painter – Merge Tower Defense Game is a Simulation, Adventure, and Single-player video game developed by Chimp Works for Android and iOS. Throughout the game, the player has to fight enemies and bosses by throwing colorful balls at them. All a player needs to do is merge all towers, shoot the paintball bubbles, and make the whole screen colorful.
The player has to make sure the bubbles do not reach the end of the trail. The player must come with proper planning to fight these huge bosses. All the bosses will attack, but the player must wisely merge the towers and get going. It is easy to play but very hard to complete all the challenges. The game has tons of exciting levels that will get harder and harder as the player completes all the challenges.
The game has stunning graphic effects with ambient music and a soundtrack. The player can collect different paintball guns that help him defeat the bosses. The game has core features such as Paintball Guns, Stunning Graphics, Multiple Bosses, and Addictive Gameplay.


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CANBERRA'S FIRST NEWSPAPER
mmono123	Uncategorized	 May 19, 2021 3 Minutes
THE FEDERAL CAPITAL PIONEER – CANBERRA'S FIRST NEWSPAPER
The first newspaper published specifically for the ACT (then the Federal Territory) was, on 3 December 1924, the self proclaimed "unpretentious" Federal Capital Pioneer.
Printed by the already established Queanbeyan Advocate printer, A. M Fallick and Sons, the Pioneer's editor was Alexander Kenneth Murray of Sturtville, Eastlake.
Murray was no relation as far as I can tell of the famous Sir Terence Murray, former owner of what is now Government House in Canberra, as well as most of the rest of this area. Sir Terence was the son of Captain Murray, the first known European to explore Port Phillip, Victoria. Nor can I find a link to the bus company.
Murray had to advise his myriad readers to take care not to address communications to Sturtville, Canberra, albeit the correct address, because the missive would be first taken to the Acton Post Office, adding a day before he would receive their precious thoughts.
The editor promised a "bright, breezy and seasonable" Christmas number. We will check the validity of the claim in due course.
Appropriately enough, the political capital's Pioneer kicked off with support for the assertion of the new Prime Minister, Captain Stanley Bruce, that he would govern for all Australians.
Similarly appropriate are featuring the apparent visionary brilliance of the then no-longer Prime Minister, W.M.Hughes, MHR; and a clarion call to "somnolent politicians" not to overlook the spreading of the subtle propaganda of the Communist Party (respectfully featuring capitals, before less respectfully identifying their views as "claptrap").
The unpretentiousness goal was shaken a bit by "Billy" Hughes' prediction that "Australians will speak of the 'Pioneer' as do the Americans of the first paper printed in Washington." Further undermining unpretention was Billy's assertion that the Pioneer was " the leader of the vanguard, the banner-bearer of the new order of things." The Pioneer repaid the favour with what any reader would term ingratiating fervour, but which we were assured was "not fulsome flattery, nor a eulogium", just facts.
Like all good parochial journals, the Pioneer sought to educate the readership as to the state of their federal territory.
The Territory was then, and has been until the contemporary Strathnairn foray into State territory, 940 sqm in size and already had about 3000, probably largely unwilling, inhabitants.
Striking was the information that the five miles of the Main Sewer was almost completed – it not being clear if it was in use, albeit not completed. The soon to be 'bush capital' already featured 1.5 million trees planted. The soon-to-be famous Cotter Weir was already containing 380,000,000 gallons, and allowing an average flow of 70m gallons. Those impressed by the stated fact that there was 6 miles of 3ft 6in gauge railway, will be further pleased to know, mirroring the incompetence found nationwide, there was also 6 1/2 miles of 4ft 8 1/2 inch gauge.
John Gale, then a 94 year old Queanbeyan journalist of great repute, was acknowledged as the "Father of Canberra, the Federal Capital", in recognition of his pivotal publication supporting the eventual site of Canberra over the then favourite, Dalgety. Those who have been to Dalgety, especially on windy winter's day, and with all due respect to the many lovely people who do choose to live there, will be forever thankful. The brilliant description of Canberra's wind in the wonderful Federal Capital Commission's April 1926 publication "Canberra. General Notes for the Information of Public Servants", which was aimed at enticing people to move here, was "the prevailing wind, which in winter is westerly – being snow-laden – is shrewdly searching." In my experience, the wind in Dalgety doesn't bother with the shrewd bit.
The first call for government action by the Pioneer, apart from waking up to deal with the insidious spread of communism, is to replace the bland names of the uninformed American designers, which "absurdities…disfigure" the map of the future national capital, with the names of the (European) men who explored and opened up the country.
Notable, because I have just bought a painting of it by a local Canberra artist, is the reference to the Australian Christmas Bells, the Blandfordia, which was the name given by Marion Mahony Griffin to what is now Forrest and, ironically, Manuka – the Pioneer would have blanched no doubt at replacing an Australian plant with a New Zealand tree.
Billy's hope that the Pioneer would live a long life didn't eventuate, it being wound up just a few years later, not saved by a change in name to the Federal Capital Pioneer Magazine.
The likely disappointment for those desiring a long life for the Pioneer was perhaps foreshadowed by those awaiting the "bright, breezy and seasonable" Christmas number – not only were those epithets inappropriate, so was the term "Christmas number". It was 1 January before the next edition appeared, adding a call for a cemetery to those ongoing pleas to destroy communism before it ate all our children. More on 1925 publications in another article.
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the red ones, and chunk the sweet.  Nuke the squashes about 1 minute.
skewers, and toss on your grill.  Turn a couple of times until done.
For the marinade, I used a bit of water to saute 5 or 6 cloves of garlic.


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Cabinet clears India's stance at climate change meet
New Delhi, Nov 27 (IANS) The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday approved the negotiating stand of India at the forthcoming 25th Conference of Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
The meet is scheduled to be held in Madrid, Spain (under the Presidency of Chile) from December 2-13.
India will look to engage in negotiations with a constructive and positive outlook and work towards protecting its long-term development interests.
India has been ambitious in its actions and has emphasised that developed countries should take lead in undertaking ambitious actions and fulfil their climate finance commitments of mobilising $ 100 billion per annum by 2020 and progressively and substantially scale up their financial support to inform parties for future action through Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC).
India will further stress upon need for fulfilling pre-2020 commitments by developed countries and that pre-2020 implementation gaps should not present an additional burden to developing countries in the post-2020 period.
The Indian delegation will be led by Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar. The COP 25 is an important conference as countries prepare to move from pre-2020 period under Kyoto Protocol to post-2020 period under the Paris Agreement.
India's approach will be guided by principles and provisions of the UNFCCC and Paris Agreement particularly the principles of 'Equity and Common But Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capability' (CBDR-RC), according to an official statement.
It said that India's leadership on climate change has been evident and well recognised across the globe. "Government of India has been undertaking several initiatives to address climate change concerns under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and these initiatives reflect India's commitment and ambition towards climate action", the statement added.
In the recently held Climate Action Summit convened by the UN Secretary General, the Prime Minister announced India's plan on scaling up of renewable energy target to 450 GW and called for responsible action by all on the principles of equity. India has been leading the world in its pursuit of enhanced solar energy capacity through International Solar Alliance (ISA).
In addition to the ISA, two new initiatives have been launched by India as part of its efforts to mobilise world on climate action. These include 'Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure', which will serve as a platform to generate and exchange knowledge on different aspects of climate and disaster resilient infrastructure.
The Leadership Group for Industry Transition has been launched jointly by India and Sweden, which will provide a platform for government and the private sector in different countries to work together on accelerating low carbon growth and cooperation in the area of technology innovation.
san/dpb
Tags: cabinet change clears climate india stance


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Managed Care Advisors
Federal Workers' Compensation
Benefits Consulting Services
Press Release: Managed Care Advisors Recognized as One of America's Fastest-Growing Private Companies in 2016.
The Bethesda-Based Small Business Ranks on the 2016 Inc. 5000, With a Three-Year Sales Growth of 117%.
Bethesda, MD, September 29, 2016 – Managed Care Advisors (MCA) ranked #2938 in this year's Inc. 5000, an annual list of America's Fastest-Growing Private Companies. Winning multiple federal government contracts, and doubling its workforce, MCA achieved a three-years sales growth of 117%.
A certified woman-owned small business, MCA offers a unique suite of products focusing on Federal Workers' Compensation, Health Benefits Consulting, and Program Management. "We are proud to have established ourselves as an industry leader and will continue to empower both our employees and customers to attain and sustain health and productivity," said MCA Chief Operating Office and Sr. Vice President, Daryl Whitman.
"MCA's recognition on the Inc. 5000, highlights the incredible service that we provide to our customers and validates that our clients are working with an innovative and effective business with proven longevity, and sustained growth," said Lisa Firestone, MCA Founder, President, and CEO.
The company's growth has impacted more than revenue. In the past three years, MCA has doubled its workforce and opened a new office in Lake Mary, Florida. "Our team is both dynamic and ambitious, which allowed us to take the risks necessary to stretch and grow," said Daryl Whitman.
With this honor, MCA joins a league of Microsoft, Dell, Pandora, LinkedIn and many other well-known companies who gained their first national exposure as honorees of the Inc. 5000. The 2016 Inc. 5000 represents a comprehensive look at the most successful companies within the American economy's most dynamic and important segment of the economy – its independent small businesses. Companies are ranked according to percentage revenue growth when comparing 2012 to 2015. Complete results of the Inc. 5000, including company profiles and an interactive database that can be sorted by industry, region, and other criteria, can be found at www.inc.com/inc5000.
About MCA: Managed Care Advisors, Inc. (MCA) is an innovative, woman-owned, employee benefits and disability management consulting, workers' compensation case and claims management, and program management company that services clients throughout the United States and all U.S. Territories. Our products and services are designed to complement customers' business processes in order to maximize productivity, employee potential, and program outcomes. This approach creates an environment that empowers individuals and organizations to function at their highest potential. Our clients include federal, state and local government agencies, corporations, health plans and ancillary providers. Our headquarters are in Bethesda, Maryland. Learn more at https://mcacares.com/ and connect with us at https://www.linkedin.com/company/managed-care-advisors/.
Managed Care Advisors Appears on Inc. 5000's 2019 List of Fastest-Growing Private Companies
Managed Care Advisors, Inc. (MCA), a leading provider of healthcare products and services, has been named to Inc. magazine's annual Inc 5000 list for the fourth consecutive year (2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019).
Managed Care Advisors Inc. Achieves ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management Systems Certification
Managed Care Advisors, Inc. (MCA), a leading provider of healthcare products and services, today announced that it has been certified under ISO 9001:2015 by Performance Review Institute, an ANAB-accredited organization recognized as a premier registrar for quality, aerospace, environmental and safety registrations.
Managed Care Advisors Inc. Acquires WebOPUS® Federal to Deliver Efficiency and Innovation in Federal Workers' Compensation Services
Managed Care Advisors, Inc. (MCA), a leading provider of healthcare products and services, today announced its acquisition of WebOPUS® Federal, a comprehensive, cloud-based workers' compensation case management, document storage and reporting system that has been customized to meet the needs of Federal agencies since 2005.
MCA Achieves National Recognition as One of the Fastest Growing Private Companies
The company was ranked #2938 in the 2016 Inc 5000 List.
Lisa Firestone named one of the 2016 Enterprising Women of the Year Award
The annual Enterprising Women of the Year Awards is widely considered one of the most prestigious recognition programs for women business owners.
WIPP's 2015 Public Policy Award
MCA president, Lisa Firestone, has been awarded the 2015 Public Policy Award by Women Impacting Public Policy.
How Can We Help You? Contact Us to Learn More!
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California Hmong in Mourning After Deadly Attack
Yia Lee watches police investigate her neighbor's house in Fresno, California, Monday, Nov. 18, 2019. (AP Photo/Gary Kazanjian)
Members of the ethnic Hmong community in Fresno, California are in mourning after gunmen shot 10 men killing four over the weekend.
Police said at least two men armed with semi-automatic handguns entered the backyard of a house and started shooting into a crowd. About 16 men had gathered there to watch a football game on television. The gunmen did not speak, and no one had a good look at them. Police said witnesses only saw flashes of gunfire in the dark.
Sunday evening's attack killed Xy Lee, a popular Hmong singer and musician. His YouTube videos have been viewed millions of times. Also killed were Phia Vang, Kou Xiong, and Kalaxang Thao. Officials said six were wounded including three in serious condition. Women and children inside the house were not hit.
Pao Yang is head of the Fresno Center, a Hmong community group. He said, "Our community is in mourning, and we still don't know what's going on, or who are the suspects."
On Xy Lee's YouTube channel, one fan wrote, "We will miss you so, so, so much brother Xy. Rest well. We will meet again." Another added, "Your songs hit hard this time around. RIP brother."
Paula Yang is a friend of the homeowner, whose brother, Kou Xiong, died in the attack. She said the shooting has many in the community fearful.
Yang said, "Even right now, families are gathering inside saying, what can we do to protect our home from this day forward?"
The Hmong are an ethnic group from the mountain areas separating Laos and Vietnam. Many fled after fighting alongside the United States during the Vietnam War. The 2017 census estimates about 300,000 Hmong live in the U.S., including 25,000 in Fresno.
Fresno police Investigator Brooke Passmore, left, works on the driveway on Lamona Avenue where a shooting took place at a house party which involved multiple fatalities and injuries in Fresno, Calif., Monday, Nov. 18, 2019. (AP Photo/Gary Kazanjian)
The Fresno police chief said, "This is truly a good group of people who were simply having a party." However, the police are investigating whether the shooting was connected to a recent "disturbance" involving some of the people at the party.
While they had not found any gang connections to the victims, Fresno police are concerned about the possibility of retaliation or more violence ahead of the Hmong New Year. The celebration comes the week after Christmas and draws thousands of Hmong to Fresno.
Police said there have been 11 violent incidents related to Asian gangs in Fresno this year, three of them in November.
The Fresno shooting was also the third mass shooting in four days in California.
Last Thursday, a 16-year-old boy killed two students and wounded three others at his high school in Santa Clarita, near Los Angeles, before killing himself.
On Saturday, a San Diego man shot and killed his wife and three of their sons before killing himself. A fourth son was on life-support.
I'm Jonathan Evans.
Hai Do adapted this AP story for VOA Learning English. Mario Ritter Jr. was the editor.
Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page.
disturbance –n. noisy or violent behavior, especially in public
gang –n. a group that is involved in criminal activities
retaliation –n. something done in response to being hurt or mistreated, revenge
See comments (7)
Immigrants Spur US Farmers Markets Revival
Hmong Farmers Improve Minnesota Food Economy


During our monthly David's Army meeting I experienced a lingering vision that continued for more than two hours.
I saw David standing to the side of the valley listening to Goliath cursing the Israeli army. He has already delivered the bread and cheese to his snarky brothers. He seems completely unfazed by their rejection and disdain. He asks about the rewards because he is puzzled why no one volunteers to fight the giant. He is about to go before King Saul. But, for a brief parenthetical pause, David steps away from the crowd, leans on a rock, and contemplates the moment.
In the vision, God brings me closer to David. He reveals some insights from David's situation in order to apply them to us. This is a common form of prophetic communication and process.
The background blurs and accentuates his appearance. He is spotlighted in the vision, captured in a cameo moment.
This is David frozen in the time just before he presents himself to King Saul. The vision details David's clothing and demeanor.
He wears the tawny-colored lionskin as a mantle, fringed with the monster's mane. He ties it at the collarbones. He also wears a bearskin vest, brown as tree bark.
I'm aware that this is how David enters the tent of King Saul to tell his story, he refers to the mantle when he tells his lion story. He points to the bearskin vest as he recounts his battle with the bear. The visual evidence of his victories convinces Saul.
David wears his lion and bear skins well!
When David is with his father's sheep, he smells like their worst enemies. The sheep smell the lionskin mantle. The sheep smell the bearskin vest. At first, they had been afraid of David when he wore them. An instinctual terror of lion and bear gave them a wild-eyed panic.
Over time, the sheep realized that the lion and bear smell on David represented safety. The smell became part of their trust with the shepherd hero. The instinctual terror faded. They realized that the smell from the Shepherd meant no more lion, no more bear, hence, no more terror! The trophies of monsters became a source of ovine peace. The sheep crowded David when he sang. They rubbed their heads against him as he worshiped. The savior of their rescue was no threat. They no longer felt the dread of lion and bear invasions. The mantle of the lion and the vest of the bear taught them that the voice of the shepherd was also the voice of the overcomer. The rescuer was with them. They felt peace.
God's people often feel helpless. He will give His helpless people shepherding champions. These champions are not hirelings who run when threatened and leave sheep to the monsters. These champions smell like lion and bear because they faced, defeated and killed them. The lion smell says, "No more lion." The bear smell says, "No more bear." He gives them overcomers as leaders. They lead them into fearlessness. The sheep no longer fear the lion and bear. They enjoy so much victory over lion and bear that they never have a problem with those enemies again. The previous enemies terrorized the sheep. Just the smell would awaken instinctive dread. But, now they hear the voice of a champion and smell his victories. The smell of lion and bear no longer produce a stampede.
David speaks of "finished battles." God intends to His people be led by champions with a history of finished battles.
The sheep follow champions with lion mantles and bearskin vests. The restlessness leaves them. They are secure in finished battles. The bear and lion came to the valley to decimate the sheep. The champion teaches the sheep these enemies no longer threaten them. Instinctive fears are removed from the hearts of the sheep.
The instinct to flee once increased their vulnerability. The champion cures that fear. The flight risk is gone.
In the vision, I see David twist the lionskin mantle to expose one shoulder. He holds the sling in this hand, available for the fight. He moves toward Saul's tent. He is ready for the valley of giants.
David's effect upon sheep speaks to his influence the staggering army of Israel. His lionskin mantle and bearskin vest communicate a message to warriors just as the smell spoke to sheep. The lionskin mantle and bearskin vest shout victory! Saul's armor whimpers defeat.
An army without weapons needs to see a shepherd win the day with a sling. Nothing could move an army facing a giant like a swordless shepherd with a lion's mantle and bearskin vest. To the army of Israel David's victories speak instant credibility. If David can kill lions and bears with his bare hands, they can win without armor, sword, or spear. They have stood for forty days like whimpering lambs before the roar of a giant. They would have trembled at the roar of lion and bear. They have no sword. They have no armor. They have no champion.
To watch Saul march around in his armor provides no courage. Saul hides in his tent. Saul can only traumatize them. Saul leaves them alone. He deepens them their shame. He feeds the despair.
David inspires them! He arrives with finished battles. He won without weapons! He has no fear of the giant. He has a fire in his eyes about facing Goliath. It has been a long time since they have seen courage, character, and commitment at that level. David walks around smelling like lion and bear. Warriors understand the language of finished battles.
The staggered army dispises every minute they cower in fear. No warrior wants to live with a whimper, waiting for someone else to do what warriors do. They need a leader with finished battles. When they see him win the battle with Goliath, their courage burns with furnace heat of the shepherd boy!
Saul wants David to wear his armor so the army thinks that Saul faces the giant.
The army gains no courage from Saul. They are not moved to run forward without a weapon in their hands by someone who sits in a tent. He wears armor for a show. Warriors scoff at a paraded appearance of war that cowers in the face of danger. The story of the shepherd boy with the lionskin mantle and bearskin vest spread through the soldiers standing on the rim of the valley. They forgot Saul thirty-two days ago. They know Saul intends to do nothing.
David is the best news they have heard for a month!
David faces Goliath wearing lionskin mantle and bearskin vest. His trophies testify a real story of God's deliverance. They testify that God led David to this valley. They remind him of Divine passion and strength that burned him with furnace heat inside him when he ran toward the lion and bear. He feels that recklessness now! The furnace is burning! He is convinced! He will take this giant's head!
He smells bear fat residue. He smells the lion's mane. Finished-battles are his armor. Finished-battles are his courage.
"Give me back my lion's mantle and bearskin vest! They smell like victory! I have proven them. They have proven me." David says.
It is one thing to face a lion or a bear. It is quite another to war with the smell of your finished-battles.
If you faced those enemies but failed to defeat them, the former terror rises in your mouth like a gorge of soured milk. The bitter burning of dread panics your soul. You faced this enemy but didn't finish the battle. Now, you face them again. As they charge for the sheep, you do not hear the sounds of bleating lambs. You are screaming in terror yourself.
"I wounded that bear and he's back! I scarred that lion. He's back to make this valley his territory," you scream.
David responds with finished-battle courage. He wears the trophies of finished-battles into this new battle.
David teaches us to finish battles and carry the smell of finished battles into new ones.
We have long been happy to wave a flag and shout about our moral victories. We whistle through the graveyards of great intentions and false starts. Yet, the roar of the giant still freezes the unarmed troops of our church-pew soldiers. They are frozen in fear. They accept giants as part of the status quo. They leaders cower in the tents, hiding from the fray.
God is looking for leaders who finish! It is the champions who smell like finished-battles that influence staggered armies and awaken another roar. The roar of lion and bear. The roar of Goliath. But, David finishes the battle. The roar he awakens comes from the staggering army on the rim of the valley. They feel same furnace flame of passion that burns in David. They rush into the valley with him and chase down the fleeing Philistines. They come back with the enemies' weapons.
Saul has left them with empty hands and hearts. In one day, David puts heartburn in every chest and a weapon in the hand of every warrior.
← Deliverance is Discipling or Shut it Down!


The public would stop falling for diet and supplement scams and realize how valuable a dietitian is in weight loss and health. Physicians would always refer to RD's for prevention and treatment. Our food system would be more sustainable, making healthy food more available to our clients. Finally, RD's would be less competitive with one another!


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Resolving "No-Name" cases In Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo
Posted on News
In Bosnia and Herzegovina and in Kosovo efforts are underway to resolve the issue of unidentified remains stored in mortuaries, for which there is no genetic match with blood samples provided by families of the missing.
In 2000, when ICMP began using mass database technology to facilitate DNA-led identification of human remains, it was not clear how effective the radical new technique would be. Nothing like it had been tried anywhere in the world. The results were astonishing – an exponential rise in the number of identifications – and unlike non-DNA identifications, those achieved using DNA sampling are more than 99.95 percent certain. The DNA method is more effective, more economical and more secure than the traditional method that had been used until then.
However, when ICMP launched its DNA-led program many thousands of identifications had already been made in the Western Balkans using traditional identification methods. It has since become clear that a substantial number of these were in fact misidentifications. In Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo thousands of unidentified remains stored in mortuaries do not match the DNA from blood samples provided by families that have not yet been able to account for their loved one. It is likely that this is because their loved one was misidentified through traditional methods and was buried by another family. Having buried the remains of the person they thought was their own relative, this family would not have provided a blood sample. This would mean that the remains of the relative of the family that has not provided a blood sample are in a mortuary, while the remains of the relative of the family that has provided a blood sample have already been buried.
The preponderance of unidentified remains stored in mortuaries has highlighted the need for systematic DNA-led identification programs in post-conflict scenarios – traditional methods on their own are not sufficient.
At the same time, this situation has pointed up the need for a new program of blood collection in the Western Balkans.
At the end of 2012 the Missing Persons Institute of Bosnia and Herzegovina (MPI) determined that there were more than 3,000 cases of human remains in mortuaries across Bosnia and Herzegovina that had the status of NN (no name). Since the beginning of 2013, the NN Working Group has been systematically reviewing these cases, moving from one mortuary to the next.
In Sarajevo in December 2015, at the annual meeting of the Regional Coordination of associations of families of Missing Persons, families called on the authorities to maintain their support for the process of reviewing unidentified human remains stored in mortuaries.
MPI and ICMP have taken steps to initiate a new blood reference sample collection among families of the missing who have not yet donated samples, including families whose loved ones were identified by non-DNA means.
During July and the first week of August 2016, MPI together with ICMP convened a series of meetings throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina to explain the objectives of the new genetic reference sample collection exercise and listen to the concerns of family members.
At a meeting in Sanski Most on 12 July representatives of family associations from Sanski Most and Prijedor pointed out that contacting families who have traditionally identified their relatives and asking them for blood reference samples is not going to be easy, since many such families consider the case of their lost relative to be closed. ICMP and the MPI clarified that the collection of blood reference samples is only the first step, and no family that has identified their missing relative/s by the traditional method will be left with an empty grave.
Representatives of family associations from Banja Luka, Gradiska, Prnjavor, Novi Grad, and Prijedor attended a meeting in Banja Luka on 13 July, at which representatives of the family associations and the Organization of families of the detained and killed soldiers and missing civilians of Republika Srpska expressed their readiness to participate in the process. They asked whether blood reference samples would first be collected from families who express doubts regarding the traditional identification of their relatives, and whether bone samples would be taken from buried remains in such cases. It was explained that blood collection should encompass all families who have identified their relatives using the traditional method. These blood reference samples can then be compared to bone samples from NN remains that are stored in mortuary facilities. Only then would buried remains be re-exhumed for sampling and DNA testing, and the newly identified remains from the mortuary facility be returned to the family.
Representatives of family associations from Nevesinje, Bileca, Trebinje, Gacko, East Sarajevo and Mostar met in Nevesinje on 21 July. Participants expressed reservations about the plan to approach families and ask them for blood reference samples now, many years after they have buried remains of what they believed was their relative. MPI and ICMP representatives pointed out the advantages of the process, which will resolve a large number of NN cases stored in mortuary facilities across BIH, and also the moral obligation to help families who might have misidentified their relative and have buried someone else's relative. By the end of the meeting the family associations agreed to assist in the process of collecting blood reference samples from the families of traditionally identified victims.
Representatives of family associations from Mostar, Grude, Capljina, Posusje and Prozor met in Mostar on 21 July, while those from Visegrad and Foca met in Visegrad on 27 July. Participants at both meetings expressed support for the initiative. Representatives of family associations from Brcko, Bijeljina, Brod, Doboj and Pelagicevo meeting in Brcko on 1 August and those from Tuzla, Zvornik, Bratunac, Srebrenica, Vlasenica, Sekovici and Kalesija, meeting in Tuzla on 2 August, were similarly positive about the process.
Representatives of family associations from Sarajevo, Bratunac, East Sarajevo, Hadzici and Vares, meeting in Sarajevo on 28 July, also alluded to the difficulty of contacting families who have identified their relatives by traditional means. However, all participants agreed that this project is of great importance and that it should be conducted in a timely manner, as many parents of missing persons are now approaching old age.
ICMP will by the end of 2016 have created a comprehensive database of missing persons who were identified by traditional methods and details of family members and contacts. This will provide an invaluable tool for reaching out to those family members in order to collect blood reference samples. At all the meetings, representatives of family associations agreed to assist in gathering data to populate the database.
When the next phase of the project commences in 2017, which will involve the collection of new blood reference samples from family members who have previously traditionally identified those whom they think are their relatives, ICMP anticipates a significant number of NN cases in the mortuary facilities to be DNA matched and identified. This will not only restore identities to NN cases in mortuary facilities, it will also point to previous misidentifications based on the traditional method which may be corrected through modern scientific methods.
At the end of the Kosovo conflict, it was estimated that over 6,000 persons had gone missing as a consequence of hostilities in 1998-1999. According to data produced by the International Committee of the Red Cross, of this number, 1,372 persons were subsequently found alive. The vast majority of persons found alive were registered in prisons in Serbia.
Based on 14,800 genetic reference samples provided to ICMP, which represent 4,409 missing persons, ICMP estimates that the number of missing persons at the end of the Kosovo conflict was approximately 4,500.
To date, ICMP has issued 5,054 DNA match reports related to missing persons cases from the Kosovo conflict. These reports represent 2,531 unique individuals. Using DNA-led identification techniques, ICMP has therefore helped the authorities in Kosovo to identify 2,531 missing persons from the conflict.
Little has changed regarding the process of accounting for the missing in Kosovo since ICMP published its 2010 report: The Situation in Kosovo – A Stocktaking. ICMP noted that the search for the missing – while continuing – had become unproductive.
The 2010 report noted three basic issues in relation to DNA-led identification: 1) ICMP's database lists 1,870 individuals still listed as missing by families in Kosovo, and has sufficient genetic reference samples to assure the identification of 1,650 of them, yet there are more than 400 unique DNA profiles from unidentified human remains that do not match the family references; 2) the rate of location and recovery of mortal remains of missing persons has declined dramatically since 2005, and; 3) an unknown proportion of the approximately 2,000 early identifications made without the use of DNA, in the period from 1999 to 2003, are incorrect.
As in the case of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the high number of unidentified remains in mortuaries in Kosovo highlights the effectiveness of a DNA-led identification system, and at the same time points up the need to address the issue of misidentifications during the period before the DNA-led approach was adopted.
The issue of unidentified remains in mortuaries in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo sheds light on aspects of the overall effort to account for the missing, in the Western Balkans and throughout the world.
The first is that there has been a revolution in forensic technology over the last 15 years. The DNA techniques employed by ICMP in 2000 have been significantly enhanced since then – and today with the onset of Massively Parallel Sequencing (MPS) there is a real prospect that new methods will be many times more powerful – and less expensive – and that these methods can be introduced within a relatively short timeframe.
Secondly, in post-conflict scenarios, different stakeholders may embark on efforts to account for the missing using technical and operating standards that may be incompatible with one another. The result will be a protracted exercise that delivers sub-optimal results.
One of the issues that will be raised at ICMP's Global Forum on Missing Persons is the need for broad international standards that can be applied in diverse circumstances in order to maximize the effectiveness of efforts to identify the missing. The Global Forum will bring together experts and stakeholders from around the world to forge a coherent global strategy on missing persons. The first Global Forum is scheduled to be held in the spring of 2017.
What can be said from the experience of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo is that identification processes can be adjusted and improved – and even after the passage of decades effective steps can be taken so that more and more families may know the fate of a loved one.


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Q: Find a minimal sufficient statistic for $U(\theta,\theta+c)$, where $(\theta,c)$ unknown.
Suppose $X_1,\cdots,X_n$ are $i.i.d$ from a distribution with p.d.f
$$\delta_{(\theta,c)}(x)=\frac{1}{c}\mathbb{1}_{(x\in[\theta,\theta+c])},$$
where $\theta\in\mathbb{R}$ and $c\in\mathbb{R}^+$ unknown.
Find a minimal sufficient statistic for $(\theta,c)$.

From the range of $x_i$, i.e. $x_i\in[\theta,\theta+c]$, we can determine that $\theta\leq x_i$ and $\theta+c\geq x_i$, $\forall i\in\{1,\cdots,n\}$. This implies $$\theta\leq x_{(1)}\text{ and }\theta+c\geq x_{(n)},$$ where $x_{(1)}=\underset{i\in\{1,\cdots,n\}}{\min}x_i$ and $x_{(n)}=\underset{i\in\{1,\cdots,n\}}{\max}x_i$.
The plots shows the area of $\theta\leq x_{(1)}\text{ and }\theta+c\geq x_{(n)}.$ It look like that $(x_{(1)},x_{(n)})$ is a minimal sufficient statistic for $(\theta,c)$ because $(x_{(1)},x_{(n)})$ uniquely determines the shape of the log-likelihood function. Is this correct?

A: (Nobody answers so I post this answer which I am not sure is correct)
We show $(Y_{(1)},Y_{(n)})$ is a sufficient complete statistic, which implies $(Y_{(1)},Y_{(n)})$ is minimal sufficient. We first give the p.d.f of $(Y_{(1)},Y_{(n)})$
$$f(y_1, y_n,\theta,c)=\frac{n(n-1)}{c^n}(y_n-y_1)^{n-2},\quad\forall \theta\leq y_1\leq y_n\leq \theta+c\text{ and } (\theta,c)\in\mathbb{R}\times\mathbb{R}^+$$
Then, for any function $g(x_1,x_n)$ so that $\mathbb{E}_{\theta,c}\left[g(y_1,y_n)\right]=0,\forall (\theta,c)\in\mathbb{R}\times\mathbb{R}^+$, we have $$0=\frac{n(n-1)}{c^n}\int_{\theta}^{\theta+c}\int_{\theta}^{y_n}g(y_1,y_n)(y_n-y_1)^{n-2} dy_1dy_n,\forall (\theta,c)\in\mathbb{R}\times\mathbb{R}^+$$
The integral area of $(y_1, y_n)$ is a triangle with vertices $(\theta,\theta)$, $(\theta,\theta+c)$ and $(\theta+c,\theta+c)$. With varying $\theta\in\mathbb{R}$ $c\in\mathbb{R}^+$, these triangles generate the Beral $\sigma$-algebra of $\mathcal{B}=\{(x,z)\in\mathbb{R}^2:x\leq z\}$. Thus
$$0=\frac{n(n-1)}{c^n}\int_{A}g(y_1,y_n)(y_n-y_1)^{n-2} d(y_1,y_n),\text{ for any Borel set }A\subset\mathcal{B}.$$
This means $$g(y_1,y_n)(y_n-y_1)^{n-2}\equiv0,a.e.\iff g\equiv 0,a.e.$$
Thus we conclude that $(Y_{(1)},Y_{(n)})$ is a complete statistic for $(\theta,c).$
Since $(Y_{(1)},Y_{(n)})$ is sufficient by factorization theorem, we conclude that $(Y_{(1)},Y_{(n)})$ is minimal sufficient.

A: This is an attempt at an alternative proof that $(x_{(1)}, x_{(n)})$ is a minimal sufficient statistic for $(\theta, c)$ using a direct approach.
Consider the likelihood ratio
$$ R(x,y) = \frac{p(x | \theta, c)}{p(y | \theta, c)} $$
where $x = (x_{1}, x_{2}, \dots x_{n}), y = (y_{1}, y_{2}, \dots y_{n})$. The ''factorization'' theorem of minimal sufficient statistics states that if a statistic $T(x)$ has the following property P then it is a minimally sufficient statistic for $\theta$:
P: $R(x, y)$ does not depend on $\theta$ if and only if $T(x) = T(y)$.
I claim that $T(x) = (x_{(1)}, x_{(n)})$ has this property and therefore is minimally sufficient.
To see this, first consider what $p(x | \theta, c)$ is. I claim that
$$p(x | \theta, c) = c^{-n} I[x_{(1)} \geq \theta, x_{(n)} \leq \theta+c].$$
The indicator $I[x_{(1)} \geq \theta, x_{(n)} \leq \theta+c]$ just determines if $x$ is a valid value in the range; certainly $p(x | \theta, c) = 0$ if $x$ is not within $[\theta, \theta+c]$. Otherwise, since the distribution is uniform we have that $p(x | \theta, c)$ should just be $c^{-n}$ because the density function of each $x_{i}$ is just $c^{-1}$.
Therefore, we have that
$$
R(x, y) =  \frac{p(x | \theta, c)}{p(y | \theta, c)} = \frac{I[x_{(1)} \geq \theta, x_{(n)} \leq \theta+c]}{I[y_{(1)} \geq \theta, y_{(n)} \leq \theta+c]}
$$
since the $c^{-n}$ values cancel out.
At this point, I should admit that the factorization theorem is not technically be applicable here, but I'd guess that it is possible to extend that theorem to this situation. Intuitively, we can see that the ratio of $p(x | \theta, c)$ to $p(y | \theta, c)$ is independent of $(\theta, c)$ if and only if $T(x) = T(y)$, despite the technicality that $R(x, y) = \frac{0}{0}$ when both $x$ and $y$ are not in the interval. That is, if we pretend that $\frac{0}{0} = 1$, then $R(x, y) = 1$ whenever $T(x) = T(y)$, whereas it might either be 0 or $+\infty$ when $T(x) \not = T(y)$.

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Catatan Perjalanan: Ljubljana, Slovenia « Hey, what's going on?
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text:
Here's What It's Actually Like to Take Eau Rouge Flat Out
Spa-Francorchamp's harrowing uphill chicane isn't for the faint of heart. Downforce, and guts, are required.
DriveTribeYouTube
Spa-Francorchamps' Eau Rouge is perhaps the most famous corner in all of motorsport. It's an incredibly fast right-exit uphill chicane with crash barriers at either side and little room for error. It's led countless drivers into spins and crashes thanks to its deceiving nature and sheer speed. Lately, high-downforce cars have made it possible to take Eau Rouge flat out—but what does that actually feel like for the driver?
Jethro Bovingdon of DriveTribe wanted to see what the infamous corner is like at full throttle. Formula One and WEC cars have been sweeping through Eau Rouge without so much as a lift for years now thanks to advancements in aerodynamics, so Bovingdon got a hold of a Radical SR3 RSX open-cockpit track car to recreate the sensation.
The purpose-built race car weighs almost nothing and uses a Suzuki Hayabusa-based 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine making 260 horsepower at 10,500 rpm. Most importantly, it has the downforce necessary to allow our guy Jethro to contemplate this flat-out feat.
Bovingdon hits the track and realizes quickly that, while it's possible to take Eau Rouge flat-out, it's not for the faint-hearted. He eventually nails it though, and it's a sight to behold. Watch for yourself as he manages to tackle the most challenging corner in motorsport history.


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Fidelity National Reorganizes Units
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) -- Fidelity National Financial Inc., an insurance company, on Monday said it was reorganizing two of its publicly traded units, Fidelity National Title Group Inc., a title insurance company, Fidelity National Information Services Inc., which provides software and information technology consulting, in a series of transactions. Under terms of the deal, Fidelity National Financial will create a spinoff by contributing most of its assets and liabilities, other than its ownership interest in Fidelity National Information Services, to Fidelity National Title Group, in exchange for shares of Fidelity National Title Group's Class A stock, anticipated to be up to $275 million, or about 45.7 million shares of stock.
Fidelity National Title will get Fidelity National Financial's specialty insurance business, its interest in Sedgwick CMS Inc., and other businesses and assets owned by Fidelity National Financial.
After that, Fidelity National Financial will convert its Class B stock of Fidelity National Title Group into Class A shares and distribute all Class A shares it holds as a dividend to Fidelity National Financial stockholders as a spin-off dividend. Fidelity National Financial anticipates the dividend to be about 188.9 million shares of Fidelity National Title stock.
The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter.
The transaction will leave Fidelity National Financial with about 51 percent ownership in Fidelity National Information Services.
In a separate deal, Fidelity National Financial will merge with Fidelity National Information Services. Under that plan, Fidelity National Financial's corporate existence will cease and Fidelity National Information Services will continue. Fidelity National Financial shares will be converted to the right to receive the number of Fidelity Information Services common stock equal to 96.2 million shares divided by the total number of shares of Fidelity National Financial shares issued.
This deal is also expected to close in the fourth quarter.
After Fidelity National Financial merges with Fidelity National Financial, Fidelity National Title will change its name to Fidelity National Financial Inc. and change its NYSE ticker symbol to "FNF," Fidelity National Financial's current ticker symbol.
Fidelity National Financial's William P. Foley II will remain chief executive officer and Alan L. Stinson will remain its chief operating officer of the new entity.
Fidelity National Title Group Inc. has operated as a publicly traded unit of Fidelity National Financial since 2005.
Fidelity National Financial Inc. bought Alltel's information services division in 2003 and merged it in 2006 with credit and debit processor Certegy to form publicly traded Fidelity National Information Services.
Source: Fidelity National Financial Inc.