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Attention Deficit Democracy by Jim Bovard
Another one of those libertarian-leaning books. And like Who Killed the Constitution?, this one leaves me rethinking much of what I once thought about the country I live in.
Bovard has two main observations to make. The first is that, despite popular opinion to the contrary, "we the people" are not in control of our government.
In 1693, William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania, wrote what could be the motto for modern American government. "Let the people think they govern, and they will be governed." Rulers endlessly assure people that they are in charge—while creating agency after agency, program after program that people can neither comprehend nor control. Americans' political thinking is becoming akin to the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance—a series of bromides that sink into the mind and stifle independent, critical thought.
It wasn't always this way. Early in our nation's history, the majority of people were suspicious of federal power, and actively worked to curtail it.
Wariness toward government was one of the most important bulwarks of American freedom. Representative government worked partly because people were skeptical of congressmen, presidents, and government officials across the board.
But Bovard says that all began to change in the 1900s, and really accelerated during the New Deal, when "government was placed on a pedestal."
And it seems that the people most enamored with government are the people in the government itself. There is one vignette, about the publication by the Harvard University Press of a book titled Why People Don't Trust Government, that is quite revealing.
Britain's Times Higher Education Supplement published an interview with Joseph Nye, the book's senior editor and dean of the Kennedy School. The Times reported that "the book, and its subject matter, are being taken seriously in the highest political circles on both sides of the Atlantic. Nye was among a group of American experts led by Hillary Clinton who recently came to Britain for a seminar on the book attended by, among others, Tony Blair, who left clutching a copy." The book—and Nye's move from the Clinton administration to Harvard—was prompted by the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. Nye explained: "I was preoccupied that people could become so anti-government that they were capable of an act like that." Why People Don't Trust Government had no mention of Waco. Nye lamented: "All the evidence is that government and politicians are at least as honest as they were in the past, but that isn't the impression people are getting." Three days after the interview was published, a Washington Post banner headline heralded the start of the Monica Lewinsky scandal.
Now, don't get me wrong. Monica Lewinsky is not a troubling as what happened at Waco, but the point is well made. The people in government and their academic colleagues sit there and scratch their heads, wondering why the people don't trust them, while scandal after scandal pours out of Washington. It's frankly laughable that they can be both so educated and so blind. Bovard sums it up well.
The tone of disbelief in Why People Don't Trust Government is at times almost comical. Harvard professor Gary Orren wrote: "The public has not only lost faith in the ability of government to solve problems, but it has actually come to believe that government involvement will just make matters worse."
But it's not all fun and games. This lack of trust in government has a darker side, and I'm not talking about blowing up buildings or other acts of domestic terrorism. Bovard also quotes Gary Wills, from A Necessary Evil: A History of American Distrust of Government.
Many people find themselves surprised at the sympathy they can feel for even outrageous opponents of government—as was demonstrated when popular support blossomed for the anti-government forces holed up with David Koresh at Waco, Texas, or with Randy Weaver, who defied the FBI at Ruby Ridge, Idaho. … But the real victims of our fear are not those faced with such extreme action. … The real victims are millions of poor or shelterless or medically indigent who have been told, over the years, that they must lack care or life support in the name of their very own freedom. Better for them to starve than to be enslaved by "big government." That is the real cost of our anti-government values.
This makes me think of much of the modern Republican Party, comprised of low and middle-income white America, who stand to lose more than they stand to gain by fighting for the rhetorical liberty that so many false Republican prophets proclaim during their stump speeches.
Loss of control over lawmakers and the resulting increase in distrusting government is, I think, an observable phenomenon, but Bovard's second observation is more sinister. It is that our perception of democracy as a grand liberating force is flawed, and that this perception, or misperception, is directly responsible for our enslavement. Bovard puts it this way:
The issue is not whether democracy is good or evil, but that seeing democracy as an absolute good open the gates to great evil.
The more people who believe democracy is failsafe, the more likely it will fail. Attention Deficit Democracy produces the attitudes, ignorance, and arrogance that pave the way to political collapse.
I find it to be a persuasive argument. The thought that Who Killed the Constitution? exposed me to—that a government that is responsible for policing itself will inevitably drift towards at best cronyism and at worst tyranny—seems equally applicable to democracies as much as other forms of government. Why would they offer any special protection?
So what does Bovard prescribe for this malaise? I'm not sure he's clear on that, but it is in his Conclusion that he comes closest to issuing a call to action.
It is time to de-sacralize democracy. Being crowned a winner by the Electoral College does not give one American the right to dispose of all other Americans' lives and liberties. If we want a new birth of freedom, we must cease glorifying oppressive political machinery. Most of what the government does has little or nothing to do with "the will of the people." The combination of ignorant voters and conniving politicians is far more likely to ruin than rescue this nation. In the same way that our forefathers in the 1770s refused to be grabbed off the streets and pressed into His Majesty's navy, so today's Americans must cease permitting politicians to impose one scheme and fraud after another.
It's an appealing message for me, but I am not sure how practical it is. Most Americans are uninterested in politics and the activities of politicians. Those that are interested are lost (I think) in an ideological battle between a Left and a Right that increasingly have more in common than the small issues that separate them. I do agree with Bovard when he writes:
The sin of most political activists today is that they want to be anti-conservative or anti-liberal, anti-Republican or anti-Democratic, without being anti-Leviathan.
What is a liberty-minded individual to do? The central message of Bovard's book is a powerful one.
We must recognize that mankind has not yet devised stable, lasting institutions that can safeguard rights without spawning oppression.
I used to think we had. I used to think—and was taught—that America was that stable and lasting institution. But, increasingly, I am no longer sure.
Much of this book reads like a series of loosely connected essays. Bovard's focus on the two main observations I describe above comprise only a portion of the text. The balance is a cavalcade of libertarian tropes.
The government always lies us into war:
Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait in the summer of 1990 provided a challenge for the first Bush administration to get Americans mobilized. In September 1990, the Pentagon announced that up to a quarter million Iraqi troops were near the border of Saudi Arabia, threatening to give Saddam Hussein a stranglehold on one of the world's most important oil sources. The Pentagon based its claim on satellite images that it refused to disclose. One American paper, the St. Petersburg Times, purchased two Soviet satellite "images taken of that same area at the same time that revealed that there were no Iraqi troops 'near the Saudi border—just empty desert.'" Jean Heller, the journalist who broke the story, commented, "That [Iraqi buildup] was the whole justification for Bush sending troops in there, and it just didn't exist." Even a decade after the first Gulf War, the Pentagon refused to disclose the secret photos that justified sending half a million American troops into harm' way.
Bovard goes into some depth on this general theme, quoting some people throughout history who observed how governments convince their citizens to go to war. Here's author Randolph Bourne after the United States entered World War I:
Government, with no mandate from the people, without consultation of the people, conducts all the negotiations, the backing and filling, the menaces and explanations, which slowly bring it into collision with some other Government, and gently and irresistibly slides the country into war. For the benefit of proud and haughty citizens, it is fortified with a list of the intolerable insults which have been hurled toward us by the other nations; for the benefit of the liberal and beneficent, it had a convincing set of moral purposes which our going to war will achieve; for the ambitious and aggressive classes, it can gently whisper of a bigger role in the destiny of the world.
And here's an interesting exchange between Hermann Goering and an interviewer during his Nuremberg trial:
Goering: "Of course, the people don't want war. Why would some poor slob on a farm want to risk his life in a war when the best that he can get out of it is to come back to his farm in one piece. … But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along."
Interviewer: "There is one difference. In a democracy the people have some say in the matter through their elected representatives, and in the United States only Congress can declare wars."
Goering: "Oh, that is all well and good, but, voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way in any country."
It's almost as if there is a science to this—to taking a nation to war. And, if that's so, are we fools to think that our leaders aren't students of that science?
Here's another trope, that the priorities of government are surreal:
In the spring of 2005, Congress showed vastly more enthusiasm for investigating steroid use by baseball players than torture by the U.S. government. Congressmen were more concerned about the sanctity of home run records than they were about the CIA or military interrogators killing innocent people. IN August 2005, the House Government Reform Committee opened a perjury investigation of a baseball player who had testified to the committee that he did not use steroids but tested positive for steroid use a few months later. Committee Chairman Tom Davis (R-VA) piously announced that "we have a obligation to look at this." Perhaps this obligation to scrutinize private misconduct is the flipside of their obligation to ignore government atrocities.
And a thing I plan to use in future arguments:
For those who continue to fail to understand how American actions abroad can motivate foreigners to hate our government, Bovard offers one of the most compelling "shoe on the other foot" examples I've come across.
Many Americans have remained oblivious to the impact that the Abu Ghraib photos and other torture reports have on foreigners. How would Americans have responded if the roles had been reversed? Consider the case of Jessica Lynch, the 20-year-old blond, blue-eyed, attractive West Virginian Army supply clerk captured after her supply convoy was attacked during the invasion of Iraq. The Pentagon and the Washington Post trumpeted grossly deceptive accounts of her capture and rescue that were later exposed as frauds (and which Lynch disavowed). What if Americans had seen photos of Lynch with blood running from cuts on her thighs, cowering before attack dogs lurching at her? What if Americans saw photos of a hooded Lynch with wires attached to her body, looking like she was awaiting electrocution? What if Americans saw videos of Lynch screaming as she was being assaulted by Iraqi captors? Such evidence would likely have swayed millions of Americans to support dropping nuclear bomb on Iraq. And yet many Americans refuse to recognize how similar evidence inflames Arabs' attitudes towards the United States.
And some things that I just didn't know.
The Abu Ghraib photos were only the tip of the iceberg. Far more incriminating photos and videos of abuses existed, which Pentagon officials revealed in a slide show for members of Congress. However, the Bush administration slapped a national security classification on almost all of the photos and videos not already acquired by the media. Rumsfeld told Congress that the undisclosed material showed "acts that can only be described as blatantly sadistic, cruel, and inhuman." Highlights included "American soldiers beating one prisoner almost to death, apparently raping a female prisoner, acting inappropriately with a dead body, a taping Iraqi guards raping young boys," according to NBC News. Suppressing this evidence enabled the Bush administration to persuade many people that the scandal was actually far narrower than the facts would later show.
Finally, in the course of his book, Bovard time and again gives me new perspective on issues I had long thought were settled. For example, we're taught in school that, early in our nation's history, the right to vote has reserved only for white men who owned property. That has always struck me as short-sighted and archaic. But read this:
In the era of the Founders, few things were more dreaded than "dependency"—not being one's own man, not having a truly independent will because of reliance on someone or something else to survive. One of the glories of America was the possibility that common people could become self-reliant with hard work and discipline. John Philip Reid summarized eighteenth-century political thinking: "Property was independence; lack of property was servility, even servitude. … A man without independent wealth could easily be bought and bribed. A man of property has a will of his own." This was part of the reason why many of the states initially required a property qualification for voters. Sir William Blackstone, whose work on the English constitution profoundly influenced Americans, observed that a property qualification for suffrage was necessary because if the property-less "had votes, they would be tempted to dispose of them under some undue influence or other." Thomas Jefferson warned: "Dependence begets subservience and venality, suffocates the germ of virtue, and prepares fit tools for the designs of ambition."
This is a view I have never taken before, and certainly never have been offered before. Depriving certain citizens of the right to vote still may not be the proper course of action, but knowing that the motivation for the property qualification was maintaining an independent electorate rather than racism changes the view of the problem.
Posted by Eric Lanke at 7:53 PM
Labels: Jim Bovard, Politics
The Inner Circle by T. C. Boyle
Chapter Twenty-Seven


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Aventura de-o noapte (în engleză one-night stand) reprezintă un contact sexual singular de la care nu există așteptări cu privire la relații suplimentare între participanții sexuali. Practica poate fi descrisă drept "o activitate sexuală fără angajament emoțional sau implicare ulterioară".

Puncte de vedere
Aventura de-o noapte este cea mai frecventă formă de infidelitate și este adesea utilizat în cercetări și sondaje pentru a defini nivelul promiscuității într-o societate la un moment dat. S-a sugerat, de asemenea, că un astfel de act poate fi la fel de amenințător pentru o relație ca o aventură pe termen lung:

Unele femei au sugerat că femeile care se simt nesigure sau nesatisfăcute din punct de vedere sexual trebuie să caute aventuri de o noapte pentru dezvoltarea și împlinirea personală. S-a scris: "o aventură de o noapte este manifestarea erotică a carpe diem".

Frecvența aventurilor de o noapte a fost crescută de apariția aplicațiilor de întâlnire online, precum Tinder și Grindr, care permit oamenilor să se întâlnească în scopuri inclusiv sexuale, deși aceste instrumente pot fi folosite și pentru a căuta parteneri de relație pe termen lung.

Fantezii
O relație de o noapte poate fi considerată, de asemenea, într-o fantezie sexuală.

Vezi și
 Promiscuitate
 Sex în grup

Note

Sexualitate umană

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ATLANTA (AP) The Atlanta Falcons say wide receiver Julio Jones is expected to be ready for the start of training camp after having minor foot surgery.
Falcons spokesman Brian Cearns said Tuesday that Jones is expected to be at full speed for the start of training camp.
Jones missed two games last season with a sprained left toe and also missed practice time in the second half of the season with foot problems. He still had 83 catches for 1,409 yards and six touchdowns and was named to his second straight All-Pro team.


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Archive for the 'Why Peers Cannot Vote' Category
EU Referendum Bill: Lord Lexden Supports Amendment to include all UK Citizens in other EU Member States
mardi, novembre 3rd, 2015
This is the speech made by Alistair Lexden in the Lord?s yesterday (2nd November, 2015) afternoon in support of an amendment to the European Referendum Bill seeking to give the right to vote in the referendum to all UK citizens living in other EU member states.
Lord Lexden (Con): My Lords, the noble Lords who have tabled these amendments have performed a most valuable service which has wider international dimensions, as my noble friend Lord Flight and others have pointed out. I have strongly and consistently supported the removal of the arbitrary 15-year limit on the right of our fellow countrymen and women living overseas to vote in our parliamentary elections?a right first conferred by Margaret Thatcher?s Government. I urged its removal in my first speech in this Chamber in early 2011. I tabled amendments to the Electoral Registration and Administration Bill in 2013 in order to press the case for change. I took part in subsequent discussions on overseas voting arrangements in a cross-party group chaired by my noble friend Lord Norton of Louth?a group in which my noble friend Lord Tyler played a conspicuous part.
I was delighted when my party included an unambiguous commitment in its recent general election manifesto to sweep away the iniquitous 15-year bar. Swift implementation of that commitment would have dealt with all the aspects of this issue, both as regards the parliamentary franchise and, as a direct consequence, the forthcoming EU referendum. However, the Bill to give effect to the unambiguous Tory commitment has not even been published. I was greatly taken aback to be told, in answer to an Oral Question in July, that there was no certainty whatever that the Bill would reach the statute book before the referendum took place?and it has become even less certain since then. This is deeply disappointing. Nothing could have been more precisely predictable than the emergence of the huge problem with which we are now confronted if swift and early action was not taken.
It is extremely unfortunate, to put it mildly, that work was not set in hand at the earliest opportunity. The Tory pledge was made in September last year. A branch of the Conservative Party?s organisation with which I am closely connected, Conservatives Abroad, has two outstanding experts on all the issues involved in extending the right to vote to all British citizens living overseas. They could have helped prepare the way for the Bill, which, if it were now before Parliament, would have prevented the wholly foreseeable problem that the amendments seek to address; unresolved, it will inflict great injustice on a significant number of our fellow countrymen and countrywomen overseas.
It simply cannot be right to hold a referendum in which some British citizens living in another EU member state or elsewhere in the world are able to take part, while others are excluded because they happen to have been absent from our shores for more than 15 years. The outcome within the EU will affect them all equally and profoundly. It will surely be incomprehensible to our fellow citizens living abroad that an election manifesto commitment cannot be implemented by one means or another in time for them to participate in a vote of such overwhelming importance for the nation to which they belong.
We need to imagine ourselves in the shoes of Harry Shindler, to whom the noble Baroness, Lady Royall, paid tribute, and our other fellow countrymen and countrywomen who have been living overseas for over 15 years and have retained a strong sense of British identity. How would we feel about being excluded from this momentous referendum while those who have not reached the 15-year limit can take part? The Bill should be returned to the other place and amended in order to include British citizens who have been living overseas for more than 15 years. In that way, we would uphold the principle enshrined in the Conservative election manifesto.
Posted in Britain & Europe's Future, Citizenship & Right to Vote, EU Ref. Bill: Lord Lexden 2 Oct 2015, Expat Representation in EU, Expat Voting rights, Overseas Voter Discrimination, Referendum on EU Membership, Voting Message from PM, Voting rights, Why Peers Cannot Vote | No Comments »
Why Peers Cannot Vote In General Elections
dimanche, juin 10th, 2012
English Common law has long provided that Peers in the House of Lords cannot vote at Parliamentary elections. Since 1999 (and the House of Lords Act) it is the fact of being a member of the second chamber that actually prevents Peer from voting. However, Hereditary Peers who are excluded from membership of the House of Lords are able to vote, under the terms of the 1999 Act. Members of the House of Lords can vote in all other elections (European, local, referenda etc.).
Matthew Purvis, House of Lords Research Clerk, has provided (via his Twitter account @mtthwprvs) a link to Library Note LLN 2012/022 ? Members of the House of Lords: Voting at Parliamentary Elections ? which provides the background information.
From the voting rights standpoint and according to Nick Clegg, the Deputy Prime Minister, with regard to this incapacity to vote at general elections, and particularly how it relates to the European Convention on Human Rights:
?Parliament consists of the three estates of the Sovereign, the Lords and the Commons. The Lords sit in their own right. The Commons are elected by the remainder of the estate of commoners to represent them in Parliament. There was therefore no case for the Lords to vote to elect representatives, since they were able to sit in Parliament anyway.?
In terms of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), he added that:
?Article 3 Protocol 1 of the ECHR provides for a requirement to hold regular, free and fair elections, and the Strasbourg courts have taken this to include the individual right to vote. However that right to vote is not absolute and limitations may be imposed on it. The fact that Members of the House of Lords have a voice in Parliament makes it legitimate to deprive them of a right to have their voice also heard through their elected representative in the Commons.?
The above ruling by the ECHR could be viewed as a favourable legal precedent for old soldier Harry Shindler, who currently has his voting rights case before this Strasbourg court, having lost his right to vote after 15 years overseas and, therefore, the right to have his voice heard through his elected representative in the Commons.
Posted in Voting rights, Why Peers Cannot Vote | No Comments »
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These dollies are always being invited to parties, but they need some help getting ready! Children can dress the dolls for get-togethers ranging from a sleepover to a spooky Halloween party; kit them out in aprons for a pizza-making party and pick out some swashbuckling costumes for a pirate party. Including over 350 stickers.


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Q: Cannot connect from Compute Engine instance to Cloud SQL via Private IP In this configuration I have a Compute Engine instance in GCP running Windows Server 2019.  I have two network adapters; one that is connected to the public network, and one that is connected to an internal virtual network called DMZ.  I then have a Cloud SQL instance running SQL Server, also configured with Private IP and running on the virtual network called DMZ.
However, I am not able to actually connect to the IP address of the Cloud SQL instance using SQL Server Management Studio from the Compute Engine node.
Here are some additional details:

*

*VM is connected to two networks: default with a 172... IP, and dmz with a 10.142... IP; OS is Windows Server 2019

*Cloud SQL has a Private IP only, connected to dmz with a 10.52... IP; running SQL Server 2017 Web

*VPC Network dmz has Private Service Connection created with 10.52... IP range

*VPC Network default is stock, no modifications

*All resources are in the same region (US-East-1)

*tracert from VM to Cloud SQL fails/times out

How does one go about enabling access?  I have followed all the steps and can't get it to work so any help would be greatly appreciated.

A: It turns out that the problem was caused by having two NICs.  Once I made a new VM with only one NIC it was fine.

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Videogame Ontology, Constitutive Rules, and Algorithms
DOI link for Videogame Ontology, Constitutive Rules, and Algorithms
Videogame Ontology, Constitutive Rules, and Algorithms book
ByShelby Moser
BookThe Aesthetics of Videogames
Click here to navigate to parent product.
This chapter explains that although the game rules of different videogame displays may vary the identity of the work that allows for these varied displays remains the same because they are generated from a "complete game algorithm" (CGA). The CGA specifies this degree of variance of the rules, the perceptual properties, and potentially the artistic properties of a videogame, and is an ontological idea that make more intelligible. Both games studies and analytic aesthetics have important contributions to make to the study of videogame ontology. The chapter presents a detailed account of the CGA and describes how it individuates one video-game from another. It presents Suits' account of rules and explains game identity. The chapter discusses the algorithmic ontology and the role it plays in videogame identity. It outlines a few problems between games and artworks, followed by some solutions to those worries and addresses the CGA as it relates to the properties it bears and the games they entail.


I came home from work one day and my little brother had his friend over, I could hear them laughing from my bedroom when I opened the door to my room I found my brothers friend dressed in my underwear. I was not embarrassed for myself at all I was more embarrassed for him. Gee I wonder if he is now a cross dresser?


Click on the "Essential Question" lesson number that you wish to explore. Each lesson investigates the life and achievements of Les Paul through the "Essential Question" posed. Materials are focused on 4th-5th grade level instruction, but may be adapted for other grade level instruction. Lessons may be done independently of each other, with choices of facilitating one or all of the eight lessons available for study. Teacher scripts are available within each lesson. Additional links for articles, materials, and videos are embedded within each lesson page. For an online copy of the Les Paul Study Units – Student Workbook, click here. You may use this workbook in sections, printing only those pages of your choice, or in full for students to use.
If you have any questions or suggestions for additional materials for this study unit, please contact Julie Palkowski, Fine Arts and Creativity Education Consultant, at the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. Consider joining the WI DPI Music Educators Google Community to share your use and ideas for this study unit.
Lesson 1- Essential Question: Why and how do people create music?
Lesson 2- Essential Question: Why do people create or invent things?
Lesson 3- Essential Question: How are people influenced in their work and play?
Lesson 4- Essential Question: How do people stay connected and informed?
Lesson 5- Essential Question: How do people use their creativity through music?
Lesson 6- Essential Question: How do people adapt to challenges?
Lesson 7- Essential Question: How has Paul's work and life impacted music and technology?
Lesson 8- What people or trends offer innovation in music and technology now and for the future?


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The impact of the pandemic on Managed Service Providers
Home | Resources | Blog | The impact of the pandemic on Managed Service Providers
February 17th, 2022Rob Prior
As the Covid-19 pandemic deepened, the digital transformation roadmaps that businesses had developed were suddenly void. Many had to quickly adapt to remote working, demanding increased protection against threat perimeters, with expanded network and IT support.
While many end-users witnessed unprecedented change across their sectors, the need to expand network access while ensuring high levels of security, resilience, and availability, simultaneously challenged Managed Service Providers (MSPs) to quickly evolve their services. Demand for infrastructure, IT equipment and digital services surged almost overnight and many MSPs were simply expected to accommodate the increased workloads. Further, many service providers were looked to as trusted advisors and experts who could help business adapt to remote work patterns, while overcoming supply chain challenges.
The transformative change in supply chains, and the rise of the hybrid worker, however, both require a new approach to data and network service delivery, which according to McKinsey, will be reinforced as the pandemic recedes. Growth within the Managed Service sector also shows no signs of slowing, and a new report from TechTarget found that 86% of recipients were looking to work with an MSP during 2022 – an increase from the 75% that responded in 2021.
The challenges facing MSPs are manifold, but what the pandemic has taught the sector is that the need to be agile, combined with robust infrastructure, application security and diverse network connectivity are key to meeting customer demands. In fact, the potential for continued growth post-pandemic is significant. However, only those MSPs that have a strategic plan in place, backed by agile, mission-critical data centre infrastructure, will be well-placed to take advantage of new service opportunities.
Essential support functions
While growth within the sector has already been prolific, the learnings have been many, and not without their downsides. The importance of relationships has stood out as a key point of differentiation for many businesses, and many have been tested to the limit as the realities of meeting unanticipated service level agreements (SLA's) became apparent.
Whether an MSP chose to expand their service portfolio, or make their existing suite of services more efficient, cost-effective, and secure, the support of like-minded partners remained vital. The ability to scale-up securely and cost effectively was also pivotal, and the role of data centres and network connectivity became critical to the digital economy.
Dynamic service was also key factor and to support those businesses bouncing back from the pandemic, MSPs, like many other service providers, have needed to reinforce their relationships and gain a greater understanding of how they can support evolving customer business models.
Moreover, in recent years, the IT services, and more specifically, the channel marketplace has become particularly competitive and crowded. Many service providers have hoped to expand, diversify, and differentiate their services, but the challenges are many. Further, with supply chains constantly affected, having the ability to futureproof your services and scale quickly in line with customer expectations is critical. Here, having likeminded and reliable partners was, and remains the very difference between success and failure.
One area where MSPs are expected to grow is in security. According to the latest MSP survey from SolarWinds, over half (66%) of respondents adapted their security services to support remote mass working. Colin Knox, vice president of community, SolarWinds MSP said, "Without MSPs as an extension of the team—focused on risk mitigation and business continuity—many businesses would have been lost and wouldn't have been able to support remote working on such a vast, immediate scale. The knowledge, expertise, and skillset of MSPs has been crucial in this changing climate. They have truly become essential."
With the skills shortage reaching endemic levels, the role of the MSP has become even more crucial for today's businesses. But in turn, MSPs have had to develop robust partnerships across the IT stack to service growing customer demands. In the channel, working with businesses, including data centre operators, that don't compete within the service space, has been critical.
And while it has always been important for MSPs to demonstrate value to their customers, the personalised services that a technical data centre, or ecosystem partner can bring to the table, will only become more critical as greater demands are placed on sales, services, and support functions.
New partnerships and new opportunities
The prosperity of MSPs is, therefore, intimately linked to their partnerships. The data centre is the hub around which many of their services are delivered and as such, colocation operators can play a critical role in the lifecycle.
At Custodian, our agile and mission-critical data centres have been expertly designed to help MSP and IT Service providers grow. We offer fast and dynamic service that acts as an expert, technical support function, helping businesses realise their digital transformation ambitions through resilient digital infrastructure. Further, we believe that partnerships mean transparency, so we offer technical support and services that truly compliment MSP service portfolios. And in turn, service providers know they can rely on us to deliver access to IT, network, power, and cooling capabilities; ensuring that the infrastructure is there to support them when they need it most.
The World of Gaming and Data Centres
Out of city, but not missing out!
Sustainable digital transformation
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text:
How to Submit a Citizens Complaint
Comments or Concerns
The El Paso County Sheriff's Office is committed to resolving all complaints quickly & accurately so that we may provide the best possible law enforcement to the El Paso Community.
The Sheriff's Office Internal Affairs Section shall accept and investigate, fairly and impartially, complaints of employee misconduct and impose any disciplinary action that may be justified, in a timely and consistent manner. The complainant need not be the aggrieved party, but may be anyone who witnessed or otherwise became aware of an incident.
Internal Affairs shall investigate all allegations of wrong doing or impropriety which include:
1. Abuse of police power
3. Racial Profiling
4. Violations not handled at the supervisory level
5. Other procedure violations not handled at the supervisory level
6. Conduct which may affect the image or credibility of the Office
7. Conduct which may expose the Office to significant risk of civil liability
8. Conduct that constitutes a violation of law, in which case, a concurrent investigation by the Criminal Investigations Division is required
9. Complaints from an Office employee against another Office employee and supervisors personnel are unable to adequately resolve the issue
10. Cases for the County Attorney's Office when a civil suit is initiated against an Office employee because of some police-related activity, and the County of El Paso has agreed to defend the employee involved, unless such investigation would constitute or give the appearance of a conflict of interest
11. Employee injuries, fleet accidents, or lost/damaged property when directed by the Sheriff to develop additional information.
Call for an appointment at (915) 538-2211 or appear in person at the Internal Affairs Office located at 3850 Justice Dr., El Paso, TX. You will be asked to complete a sworn affidavit. Office Hours Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.


text:
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
//                   __                _      _   ________               //
//                  / /   ____  ____ _(_)____/ | / / ____/               //
//                 / /   / __ \/ __ `/ / ___/  |/ / / __                 //
//                / /___/ /_/ / /_/ / / /__/ /|  / /_/ /                 //
//               /_____/\____/\__, /_/\___/_/ |_/\____/                  //
//                           /____/                                      //
//                                                                       //
//               The Next Generation Logic Library                       //
//                                                                       //
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
//                                                                       //
//  Copyright 2015-20xx Christoph Zengler                                //
//                                                                       //
//  Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");      //
//  you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.     //
//  You may obtain a copy of the License at                              //
//                                                                       //
//  http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0                           //
//                                                                       //
//  Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software  //
//  distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,    //
//  WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or      //
//  implied.  See the License for the specific language governing        //
//  permissions and limitations under the License.                       //
//                                                                       //
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

package org.logicng.transformations.qmc;

import static org.assertj.core.api.Assertions.assertThat;
import static org.logicng.transformations.qmc.QuineMcCluskeyAlgorithm.chooseSatBased;
import static org.logicng.transformations.qmc.QuineMcCluskeyAlgorithm.combineInTermClasses;
import static org.logicng.transformations.qmc.QuineMcCluskeyAlgorithm.computePrimeImplicants;
import static org.logicng.transformations.qmc.QuineMcCluskeyAlgorithm.convertToTerm;
import static org.logicng.transformations.qmc.QuineMcCluskeyAlgorithm.generateInitialTermClasses;

import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
import org.logicng.datastructures.Assignment;
import org.logicng.datastructures.Tristate;
import org.logicng.formulas.Formula;
import org.logicng.formulas.FormulaFactory;
import org.logicng.formulas.Literal;
import org.logicng.formulas.Variable;
import org.logicng.io.parsers.ParserException;
import org.logicng.io.parsers.PropositionalParser;
import org.logicng.io.readers.FormulaReader;
import org.logicng.predicates.satisfiability.TautologyPredicate;
import org.logicng.solvers.MiniSat;
import org.logicng.solvers.SATSolver;

import java.io.BufferedReader;
import java.io.FileReader;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.Arrays;
import java.util.Collections;
import java.util.LinkedHashSet;
import java.util.List;
import java.util.SortedMap;

/**
 * Unit tests for {@link QuineMcCluskeyAlgorithm}.
 * @version 2.3.0
 * @since 1.4.0
 */
public class QuineMcCluskeyTest {

    @Test
    public void testSimple1() throws ParserException {
        final FormulaFactory f = new FormulaFactory();
        final PropositionalParser p = new PropositionalParser(f);
        final Formula formula = p.parse("(~a & ~b & ~c) | (~a & ~b & c) | (~a & b & ~c) | (a & ~b & c) | (a & b & ~c) | (a & b & c)");
        final Formula dnf = QuineMcCluskeyAlgorithm.compute(formula);
        assertThat(dnf.isDNF()).isTrue();
        assertThat(f.equivalence(formula, dnf).holds(new TautologyPredicate(f))).isTrue();
    }

    @Test
    public void testSimple2() throws ParserException {
        final FormulaFactory f = new FormulaFactory();
        final PropositionalParser p = new PropositionalParser(f);
        final Formula formula = p.parse("(~a & ~b & ~c) | (~a & b & ~c) | (a & ~b & c) | (a & b & c)");
        final Formula dnf = QuineMcCluskeyAlgorithm.compute(formula);
        assertThat(dnf.isDNF()).isTrue();
        assertThat(f.equivalence(formula, dnf).holds(new TautologyPredicate(f))).isTrue();
    }

    /**
     * Example from issue 15.
     * Ensure only original formula variables are returned, i.e., no auxiliary variables are returned.
     * @throws ParserException if any malformed formula is encountered
     */
    @Test
    public void testSimple3() throws ParserException {
        final FormulaFactory f = new FormulaFactory();
        final PropositionalParser p = new PropositionalParser(f);
        final Formula formula = p.parse("~5 & ~4 & 3 & 2 & 1 | ~3 & ~7 & ~2 & 1 | ~6 & 1 & ~3 & 2 | ~9 & 6 & 8 & ~1 | 3 & 4 & 2 & 1 | ~2 & 7 & 1 | ~10 & ~8 & ~1");
        final Formula dnf = QuineMcCluskeyAlgorithm.compute(formula);
        assertThat(dnf.isDNF()).isTrue();
        assertThat(f.equivalence(formula, dnf).holds(new TautologyPredicate(f))).isTrue();
        assertThat(formula.variables()).containsAll(dnf.variables());
    }

    @Test
    public void testLarge1() throws ParserException {
        final FormulaFactory f = new FormulaFactory();
        final PropositionalParser p = new PropositionalParser(f);
        final Formula formula = p.parse("A => B & ~((D | E | I | J) & ~K) & L");
        final Formula dnf = QuineMcCluskeyAlgorithm.compute(formula);
        assertThat(dnf.isDNF()).isTrue();
        assertThat(f.equivalence(formula, dnf).holds(new TautologyPredicate(f))).isTrue();
    }

    @Test
    public void testLarge2() throws ParserException, IOException {
        final FormulaFactory f = new FormulaFactory();
        final Formula formula = FormulaReader.readPseudoBooleanFormula("src/test/resources/formulas/large_formula.txt", f);
        final SATSolver solver = MiniSat.miniSat(f);
        solver.add(formula);
        final List<Assignment> models = solver.enumerateAllModels(Arrays.asList(
                f.variable("v111"),
                f.variable("v410"),
                f.variable("v434"),
                f.variable("v35"),
                f.variable("v36"),
                f.variable("v78"),
                f.variable("v125"),
                f.variable("v125"),
                f.variable("v58"),
                f.variable("v61")));
        final List<Formula> operands = new ArrayList<>(models.size());
        for (final Assignment model : models) {
            operands.add(model.formula(f));
        }
        final Formula canonicalDNF = f.or(operands);
        final Formula dnf = QuineMcCluskeyAlgorithm.compute(models, f);
        assertThat(dnf.isDNF()).isTrue();
        assertThat(f.equivalence(canonicalDNF, dnf).holds(new TautologyPredicate(f))).isTrue();
    }

    @Test
    public void testLarge3() throws ParserException, IOException {
        final FormulaFactory f = new FormulaFactory();
        final Formula formula = FormulaReader.readPseudoBooleanFormula("src/test/resources/formulas/large_formula.txt", f);
        final SATSolver solver = MiniSat.miniSat(f);
        solver.add(formula);
        final List<Assignment> models = solver.enumerateAllModels(Arrays.asList(
                f.variable("v111"),
                f.variable("v410"),
                f.variable("v434"),
                f.variable("v35"),
                f.variable("v36"),
                f.variable("v78"),
                f.variable("v125"),
                f.variable("v125"),
                f.variable("v58"),
                f.variable("v27"),
                f.variable("v462"),
                f.variable("v463"),
                f.variable("v280"),
                f.variable("v61")));
        final List<Formula> operands = new ArrayList<>(models.size());
        for (final Assignment model : models) {
            operands.add(model.formula(f));
        }
        final Formula canonicalDNF = f.or(operands);
        final Formula dnf = QuineMcCluskeyAlgorithm.compute(models, f);
        assertThat(dnf.isDNF()).isTrue();
        assertThat(f.equivalence(canonicalDNF, dnf).holds(new TautologyPredicate(f))).isTrue();
    }

    @Test
    public void testConvertToTerm() throws ParserException {
        final FormulaFactory f = new FormulaFactory();
        final PropositionalParser p = new PropositionalParser(f);
        final List<Literal> minterm1 = Arrays.asList(f.literal("A", true), f.literal("B", true), f.literal("C", true));
        final List<Literal> minterm2 = Arrays.asList(f.literal("A", true), f.literal("B", false), f.literal("C", true));
        final List<Literal> minterm3 = Arrays.asList(f.literal("A", false), f.literal("B", false), f.literal("C", false));

        assertThat(convertToTerm(minterm1, f).bits()).isEqualTo(new Tristate[]{Tristate.TRUE, Tristate.TRUE, Tristate.TRUE});
        assertThat(convertToTerm(minterm2, f).bits()).isEqualTo(new Tristate[]{Tristate.TRUE, Tristate.FALSE, Tristate.TRUE});
        assertThat(convertToTerm(minterm3, f).bits()).isEqualTo(new Tristate[]{Tristate.FALSE, Tristate.FALSE, Tristate.FALSE});

        assertThat(convertToTerm(minterm1, f).minterms()).isEqualTo(Collections.singletonList(p.parse("A & B & C")));
        assertThat(convertToTerm(minterm2, f).minterms()).isEqualTo(Collections.singletonList(p.parse("A & ~B & C")));
        assertThat(convertToTerm(minterm3, f).minterms()).isEqualTo(Collections.singletonList(p.parse("~A & ~B & ~C")));

        assertThat(convertToTerm(minterm1, f).termClass()).isEqualTo(3);
        assertThat(convertToTerm(minterm2, f).termClass()).isEqualTo(2);
        assertThat(convertToTerm(minterm3, f).termClass()).isEqualTo(0);
    }

    @Test
    public void testGenerateInitialTermClasses() throws ParserException {
        final FormulaFactory f = new FormulaFactory();
        final Term minterm1 = getTerm("A B C", f);
        final Term minterm2 = getTerm("A ~B C", f);
        final Term minterm3 = getTerm("~A ~B ~C", f);
        final Term minterm4 = getTerm("A B ~C", f);
        final Term minterm5 = getTerm("~A B C", f);
        final Term minterm6 = getTerm("~A ~B C", f);

        final SortedMap<Integer, LinkedHashSet<Term>> termsInClasses = generateInitialTermClasses(Arrays.asList(minterm1, minterm2, minterm3, minterm4, minterm5, minterm6));
        assertThat(termsInClasses).isNotNull();
        assertThat(termsInClasses).isNotEmpty();
        assertThat(termsInClasses.get(0)).containsExactly(minterm3);
        assertThat(termsInClasses.get(1)).containsExactly(minterm6);
        assertThat(termsInClasses.get(2)).containsExactly(minterm2, minterm4, minterm5);
        assertThat(termsInClasses.get(3)).containsExactly(minterm1);
    }

    /**
     * original
     * 0  -A -B -C (mt3)
     * 1  -A -B  C (mt6)
     * 2   A -B  C (mt2)
     * 2   A  B -C (mt4)
     * 2  -A  B  C (mt5)
     * 3   A  B  C (mt1)
     *

     * first round
     * 01 -A -B  x -> 1 (mt3, mt6)
     * 12  x -B  C -> 2 (mt6, mt2)
     * 12 -A  x  C -> 2 (mt6, mt5)
     * 23  A  x  C -> 3 (mt2, mt1)
     * 23  A  B  x -> 3 (mt4, mt1)
     * 23  x  B  C -> 3 (mt5, mt1)
     */
    @Test
    public void testUniteTermsInClasses() throws ParserException {
        final FormulaFactory f = new FormulaFactory();
        final Term minterm1 = getTerm("A B C", f);
        final Term minterm2 = getTerm("A ~B C", f);
        final Term minterm3 = getTerm("~A ~B ~C", f);
        final Term minterm4 = getTerm("A B ~C", f);
        final Term minterm5 = getTerm("~A B C", f);
        final Term minterm6 = getTerm("~A ~B C", f);
        final SortedMap<Integer, LinkedHashSet<Term>> termsInClasses = generateInitialTermClasses(Arrays.asList(minterm1, minterm2, minterm3, minterm4, minterm5, minterm6));

        final SortedMap<Integer, LinkedHashSet<Term>> newTermsInClasses = combineInTermClasses(termsInClasses);
        assertThat(newTermsInClasses).isNotNull();
        assertThat(newTermsInClasses).isNotEmpty();
        assertThat(newTermsInClasses.get(0)).isNull();
        assertThat(newTermsInClasses.get(1)).containsExactly(minterm3.combine(minterm6));
        assertThat(newTermsInClasses.get(2)).containsExactly(minterm6.combine(minterm2), minterm6.combine(minterm5));
        assertThat(newTermsInClasses.get(3)).containsExactly(minterm2.combine(minterm1), minterm4.combine(minterm1), minterm5.combine(minterm1));

        assertThat(minterm1.isUsed()).isTrue();
        assertThat(minterm2.isUsed()).isTrue();
        assertThat(minterm3.isUsed()).isTrue();
        assertThat(minterm4.isUsed()).isTrue();
        assertThat(minterm5.isUsed()).isTrue();
        assertThat(minterm6.isUsed()).isTrue();
    }

    /**
     * original
     * 0 -A -B -C (mt3) *
     * 1 -A -B  C (mt6) *
     * 2  A -B  C (mt2) *
     * 2  A  B -C (mt4) *
     * 2 -A  B  C (mt5) *
     * 3  A  B  C (mt1) *
     *

     * first round
     * 0-1 -A -B  x -> 1 (mt3, mt6)
     * 1-2  x -B  C -> 2 (mt6, mt2) *
     * 1-2 -A  x  C -> 2 (mt6, mt5) *
     * 2-3  A  x  C -> 3 (mt2, mt1) *
     * 2-3  A  B  x -> 3 (mt4, mt1)
     * 2-3  x  B  C -> 3 (mt5, mt1) *
     *

     * second round
     * 01-12 /
     * 12-23 x x C (mt6, mt2, mt5, mt1)
     * 12-23 x x C (mt6, mt2, mt2, mt1)
     *

     * result
     * 0-1 -A -B  x -> 1 (mt3, mt6)
     * 2-3  A  B  x -> 3 (mt4, mt1)
     * 12-23 x x C (mt6, mt2, mt5, mt1)
     */
    @Test
    public void testComputePrimeImplicantsSimple() throws ParserException {
        final FormulaFactory f = new FormulaFactory();
        final Term minterm1 = getTerm("A B C", f);
        final Term minterm2 = getTerm("A ~B C", f);
        final Term minterm3 = getTerm("~A ~B ~C", f);
        final Term minterm4 = getTerm("A B ~C", f);
        final Term minterm5 = getTerm("~A B C", f);
        final Term minterm6 = getTerm("~A ~B C", f);

        final LinkedHashSet<Term> primeImplicants = computePrimeImplicants(Arrays.asList(minterm1, minterm2, minterm3, minterm4, minterm5, minterm6));
        assertThat(primeImplicants).isNotNull();
        assertThat(primeImplicants).isNotEmpty();
        assertThat(primeImplicants).containsExactly(
                minterm3.combine(minterm6),
                minterm4.combine(minterm1),
                minterm6.combine(minterm2).combine(minterm5.combine(minterm1))
        );
    }

    /**
     * The example from Quine-McCluskey
     */
    @Test
    public void testComputePrimeImplicantsWiki() throws ParserException {
        final FormulaFactory f = new FormulaFactory();
        final Term m0 = getTerm("~x0 ~x1 ~x2 ~x3", f);

        final Term m1 = getTerm("~x0 ~x1 ~x2 x3", f);
        final Term m4 = getTerm("~x0 x1 ~x2 ~x3", f);
        final Term m8 = getTerm("x0 ~x1 ~x2 ~x3", f);

        final Term m5 = getTerm("~x0 x1 ~x2 x3", f);
        final Term m6 = getTerm("~x0 x1 x2 ~x3", f);
        final Term m9 = getTerm("x0 ~x1 ~x2 x3", f);

        final Term m7 = getTerm("~x0 x1 x2 x3", f);
        final Term m11 = getTerm("x0 ~x1 x2 x3", f);

        final Term m15 = getTerm("x0 x1 x2 x3", f);

        final LinkedHashSet<Term> primeImplicants = computePrimeImplicants(Arrays.asList(m0, m1, m4, m8, m5, m6, m9, m7, m11, m15));
        assertThat(primeImplicants).isNotNull();
        assertThat(primeImplicants).isNotEmpty();
        assertThat(primeImplicants).containsExactly(
                m9.combine(m11),
                m7.combine(m15),
                m11.combine(m15),
                m0.combine(m1).combine(m4.combine(m5)),
                m0.combine(m1).combine(m8.combine(m9)),
                m4.combine(m6).combine(m5.combine(m7))
        );

    }

    @Test
    public void testSatBasedSelection() throws ParserException {
        final FormulaFactory f = new FormulaFactory();
        final Term m0 = getTerm("~a ~b ~c", f);
        final Term m1 = getTerm("~a ~b c", f);
        final Term m2 = getTerm("~a b ~c", f);
        final Term m3 = getTerm("a ~b c", f);
        final Term m4 = getTerm("a b ~c", f);
        final Term m5 = getTerm("a b c", f);
        final LinkedHashSet<Term> primeImplicants = computePrimeImplicants(Arrays.asList(m0, m1, m2, m3, m4, m5));
        final TermTable table = new TermTable(primeImplicants);
        final List<Term> terms = chooseSatBased(table, f);
        assertThat(terms).hasSize(3);
    }

    @Test
    public void testSmallFormulas() throws IOException, ParserException {
        final FormulaFactory f = new FormulaFactory();
        final PropositionalParser p = new PropositionalParser(f);
        final BufferedReader reader = new BufferedReader(new FileReader("src/test/resources/formulas/small_formulas.txt"));
        while (reader.ready()) {
            final Formula formula = p.parse(reader.readLine());
            final List<Variable> variables = new ArrayList<>(formula.variables());
            final List<Variable> projectedVars = variables.subList(0, Math.min(6, variables.size()));

            final SATSolver solver = MiniSat.miniSat(f);
            solver.add(formula);
            final List<Assignment> models = solver.enumerateAllModels(projectedVars);
            final List<Formula> operands = new ArrayList<>(models.size());
            for (final Assignment model : models) {
                operands.add(model.formula(f));
            }
            final Formula canonicalDNF = f.or(operands);

            final Formula dnf = QuineMcCluskeyAlgorithm.compute(formula, projectedVars);
            assertThat(dnf.isDNF()).isTrue();
            assertThat(f.equivalence(canonicalDNF, dnf).holds(new TautologyPredicate(f))).isTrue();
        }
    }

    @Test
    public void testTrivialCases() {
        final FormulaFactory f = new FormulaFactory();
        final Formula verumDNF = QuineMcCluskeyAlgorithm.compute(f.verum());
        final Formula falsumDNF = QuineMcCluskeyAlgorithm.compute(f.falsum());
        final Formula aDNF = QuineMcCluskeyAlgorithm.compute(f.variable("a"));
        final Formula notADNF = QuineMcCluskeyAlgorithm.compute(f.literal("a", false));
        assertThat(verumDNF).isEqualTo(f.verum());
        assertThat(falsumDNF).isEqualTo(f.falsum());
        assertThat(aDNF).isEqualTo(f.variable("a"));
        assertThat(notADNF).isEqualTo(f.literal("a", false));
    }

    static Term getTerm(final String string, final FormulaFactory f) throws ParserException {
        final List<Literal> literals = new ArrayList<>();
        final PropositionalParser p = new PropositionalParser(f);
        for (final String var : string.split(" ")) {
            literals.add((Literal) p.parse(var));
        }
        return convertToTerm(literals, f);
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Plateaux é uma região do Togo. Sua capital é a cidade de Atakpamé.

Prefeituras
Amou
Haho
Kloto
Ogou
Wawa

Regiões do Togo


The first Thursday of every month we will be sharing ideas on what you can write about for the next month. Yes, the next month. We believe in keeping you ahead of the curve when it comes to your content efforts, so give yourself a little time to figure out how to incorporate these seasonal content ideas into your overall marketing plans for July.


~Santa Baby~ red tinted base w/red & magenta microglitters & opal glitter accents!
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~Aurora Borealis~ glitter top coat w/purple, green, red and pink glitters featuring dots & diamonds!
~African Violet~ is a purple to aqua duochrome with opal glitters!


Oh, so you're a movie buff? Then maybe you'll enjoy this huge IMDb update! Included in the update is a gang of new features; Facebook and Twitter sharing of what you're watching, access to the endless movie discussion boards, recommendations for movies you may have never seen, and the ability to see how a movie is rated by IMDb users as well as critics.


text:
In response to the Robb Elementary School shooting that occurred in Uvalde, Texas, State Sen. Roland Gutierrez proposes that Texas should raise the age limit to buy a gun from 18 years old to 21.
The massacre is one of the deadliest school shootings to take place in America, and it troubled parents, citizens, and lawmakers around the country. Sen. Gutierrez stated, "Not one parent in Uvalde is asking for anybody's guns to be taken away. They're asking for a small law change to not allow an 18-year-old to have access to a militarized weapon until they're 21. It's common sense."
Texas NEEDS to #RaiseTheAge to buy these guns from 18 to 21!
This is a COMMONSENSE GUN SAFETY solution that we are demanding to prevent another #UvaldeMassacre!
Voters on both sides agree: It's time lawmakers confront this issue head-on. #txlege https://t.co/0QXVNPN8pX
— Senator Roland Gutierrez (@RolandForTexas) January 16, 2023
Texas is a heavily-armed state, and talks of gun control typically prove to be unpopular. However, Sen. Gutierrez believes that he has some level of bipartisan support for his new legislative initiative.
In 2021, on the 3 year anniversary of the Parkland school shooting, President Joseph Biden (D) claimed that he intended to increase gun reform across the nation. He stated, "We will take action to end our epidemic of gun violence and make our schools and communities safer." His calls for "commonsense gun law reforms", required background checks on all gun sales, banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, as well as holding gun manufacturers accountable, did not go well with then-Texas GOP Chairman and Retired Lieutenant Governor Allen West (R).
Chairman West stated, "The citizens of Texas will not be disarmed and turned into subjects so that tyranny, drug cartels, and criminals can have us live in fear. Texans live by a simple motto, 'Come and Take It'."
When asked if he believed there was a chance he could get the bill passed, Gutierrez stated, "I've talked privately to some of my colleagues in the Senate, and there is some interest." He continued, saying, "It's my hope we can get there."
According to Gutierrez, it is his desire to get the legislation, which he claimed had the support of 80 percent of, presumably, registered Republican voters, on the floor of the House and Senate. He stated, "I'll be adding my legislation as amendments to any one of their bills."
"It's my prerogative to have that discussion because those families deserve it," he stated. He continued, stating, "All they're asking for are common sense gun solutions so that this doesn't happen again."


Relational unions tie two individuals together in a solid relationship. Some of the time relational unions swing to be exceptionally productive for both the accomplices while now and again they swing to be extremely appalling. Marriage is an imperative matter of a man's life subsequently it ought to be finished with appropriate arranging and firm assurance. There is no reason for wedding somebody whom you don't love and whom you can't trust by any means. Regardless of whether you wed such a man, you should wind up your marriage one day. At that point, you should perform Kisi Ki Shadi Todne Ka Wazifa to complete your work.
Disturbing relational unions have a tendency to be unsuccessful. None of the accomplices can live glad in such a marriage which is loaded with despondency. One can put a conclusion to such a marriage by performing Kisi Ki Shadi Todne Ka Wazifa. This wazifa is performed particularly to wind up connections that are irritating. At the point when two individuals are despondent being in a hitched connection with each other then they can perform Kisi Ki Shadi Todne Ka Amal along with this wazifa and after that, they will be free from that undesirable connection. This wazifa and Amal is easy to perform. This is intense and it has helped heaps of individuals in disposing of undesirable connections.
In these straightforward five stages, you can finish this amal. You can counsel a molvi to get Kisi Ki Shadi Todne Ki Dua. When durood Shareef in the event that you discuss this dua, you will most likely get flexibility from your irritating and undesirable marriage relationship. In the event that your engagement is settled with somebody yet you need to wed another person then additionally you can discuss this dua and after that, you will never again be limited to stay drew in with the individual whom you don't love. In the wake of breaking your engagement, you can wed the individual whom you cherish.
Islamic celestial prophets, for the most part, use Kisi Ki Shadi Todne Ka Totke when they are asked for to do as such. All these totke are required to be performed in the correct way else they won't give you wanted outcomes. These totke swings to be extremely exceptionally successful and supportive when they are performed by the opportune individual at the perfect time and in the correct way. You can likewise learn about Kisi Ki Shadi Todne Ka Totke so that you can do it at whatever point required. You will get no trouble in adapting all these totke.
Breaking an affection engagement or a marriage isn't something to be thankful for yet now and then it turns into a need to do as such. Whenever engagements and relational unions take a revolting turn then it winds up imperative to end them. Rather than carrying on with your existence with a lament of the unsuccessful relationship, you should simply put a conclusion to it when you understand that your relationship is irritating you and it is getting misfortune and despondency your life. To fulfill your life and favored again you should make dua to Allah (Swt) with your unadulterated heart. Allah (SWT) is the best and he will most likely favor you with a prosperous life.
Molana Bakhtawar Ali Ji +91-7300273361 also on Whatsapp.


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350 Mission Street is a 27-story office tower being constructed adjacent to San Francisco's new Transbay Tower and Terminal, which upon completion will be the city's primary intermodal transportation center for buses, commuter rail, and eventually California's high-speed rail. The design concept is focused on the creation of an urban living room — a memorable street-level space that is highly engaged with the urban realm. The project exemplifies a regenerative urban ecology in which the highest level of environmental, social, cultural, and economic sustainability are applied to the making of the architectural form. A 50-foot-high urban living room at the building's base is designed as a vibrant space that blurs the boundaries between the public and private realms. Salesforce, a global cloud computing company, will be the sole tenant of 350 Mission.Michelle Isenberg providing consulting services to DPA Fine Arts.


Erphaan Alves has started building, what will essentially be an empire. The young Chaguanas soca star in the making has been consistently delivering good music, seamless production and now, in the age of artiste endorsement deals with big brands and tech savvy marketing ploys, young Alves is making inroads to ensuring that his Team EA brand becomes world renowned.
A semi-finalist in both categories of the International Soca Monarch competition, Erphaan's promising to blow the socks off his competitors, but even amid his preparations for the season's major competitions, his vision for his brand, takes precedence. "My vision for Team EA is slowly unfolding as my career progresses. The team is going to become an organization- not just a fan support unit," he said assuredly.
When Erphaan speaks of his team, he is talking about the growing list of people who stand firmly beside him, people who have assisted with his promotional endeavors, that is to say, his annual birthday bash, which began when he turned 21, two years ago. This year, together with friends and business partners, Avinder Rampersad of Winerboy Entertainment and Jared Penny of Major Events Alves hosted his 23rd birthday celebration, something he coined EA23. "We intend to nurture this event until it grows into an established brand in itself, something of a concert experience, essentially," said a determined Alves.
Erphaan's music has spoken volumes since his breakthrough onto the soca scene a few years ago. This year, he's released two major titles that he'll be competing against his soca cohorts with, namely, 'Tanty' and the power soca single, "Deal With It." He's excited to deliver in the soca competition but believe it or not, he's also making his presence felt in the calypso arena. "This year will be my second year back into the Calypso arena, competitively," said Alves, explaining that he'll be singing at the Kaiso Karavan tent in La Joya, St. Joseph. His calypso this year is called, "Generation Gap", a song that was written by Ronald Ford and something that deals with the lack of appreciation shown for Calyspo music, by the younger generation. "The song suggests ways to fix that," said Erphaan.
Soca, Calypso, Production, Promotion... and the list goes on. He wears many hats, all connected, no doubt and all intertwined to aid in the construction of the EA empire. "I also have the clothing line that's growing really well," he said, proving that his promotional skills are always on point. "The demand for EA tees and hats continues to increase, especially with the carnival season coming to a climax. Cups and other merchandise are also available at ThreadID Clothing store at Golden Doors Plaza in Port-of-Spain," revealed the budding entrepreneur.
The journey to the top is not for the weak hearted and this Erphaan knows. It is with that strong winner's spirit that he prepares to show his fellow soca stars, just what he can do at the semi finals of the Soca Monarch competition this coming Sunday. "I just want people to come out and see just what I can do. Expect a great show," he said.


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text:
Q: import a static method How can I import a static method from another c# source file and use it without "dots"?
like :
foo.cs
namespace foo
{
    public static class bar
    {
        public static void foobar()
        {
        }
    }
}

Program.cs
using foo.bar.foobar; <= can't!

namespace Program
{
    class Program
    {
        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
             foobar();
        }
    }
}

I can't just foobar();, but if I write using foo; on the top and call foobar() as foo.bar.foobar() it works, despite being much verbose. Any workarounds to this?

A:
This is the accepted answer, but note that as the answer below states, this is now possible in C# 6

You can't
static methods needs to be in a class by design..
Why do static methods need to be wrapped into a class?

A: With C# 6.0 you can.
C# 6.0 allows static import (See using Static Member)
You will be able to do:
using static foo.bar;

and then in your Main method you can do:
static void Main(string[] args)
{
    foobar();
}

You can do the same with System.Console like:
using System;
using static System.Console;
namespace SomeTestApp
{
    class Program
    {
        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            Console.WriteLine("Test Message");
            WriteLine("Test Message with Class name");
        }
   }
}

EDIT: Since the release of Visual Studio 2015 CTP, in January 2015, static import feature requires explicit mention of static keyword like:
using static System.Console;

A: Declare an Action Delegate variable in a suitable scope as follows and use it later:
Action foobar = () => foo.bar.foobar();

or even easier
Action foobar = foo.bar.foobar;

I shall also pay attention to Extension Methods (C# Programming Guide). If you're having methods with parameters, often it's quite cosy to have:
public static class bar
{
    public static void foobar(this string value)
    {
    }
}

and utilize it:
 string s = "some value";
 s.foobar();

This is actually a much better approach.

A: To add to the answers already here it's important to note that C# is a very typed language. Therefore, unless the method exists in the class you're in, you would never be able to do something like what you're looking for.
However, if you add the using:
using foo;

You can then access it with just the type and method like this:
bar.foo();


text:
John Carter's Never-Made Sequel Actually Sounds Epic
Director Andrew Stanton opens up about Gods of War, the planned follow-up to his 2012 Disney bomb.
Dejah and John wouldn't have immediately reunited in John Carter 2.
Today is not only the 10th anniversary of the release of Disney's John Carter, it's probably the 10th anniversary of the death of its sequel. Everyone involved with John Carter, which was based on a legendary series of novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs, saw it as the start of a franchise. Even the film itself, which starts as "John Carter" and ends as "John Carter of Mars" aims at that. But on a film's first day of release, most studios know if it's going to be hit or not, and everyone involved with John Carter knew it wasn't going to be.
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But up until that point, plans were being made for a sequel—and in a new interview, co-writer and director of John Carter Andrew Stanton revealed to the Wrap exactly what the movie, titled Gods of Mars, was going to be.
To understand what Stanton's talking about though, you have to remember where the first movie ends. Right after their wedding night, John Carter (Taylor Kitsch) is tricked into being sent back to Earth by the immortal Matai Shang (Mark Strong). Carter then spends over a decade figuring out how to get back to Mars and the film ends with him succeeding, though we don't see what happens next. The sequel started there and had fun with the passage of time.
Here's Stanton, as told to the Wrap:
I love the idea of you were going to open with the prologue. It was going to be that every movie had a different character saying the prologue. The first one is Willem [Dafoe], as Tars. The second one's prologue narration was going to be Dejah [Lynn Collins]. And it was going to give anybody that hadn't seen the first movie a little precursor of the history that got you to this movie. Shorthand, interesting imagery, whether it was artwork or whatever. And then you were going to reveal she was telling it to her baby. And you were going to realize, Oh my God, it's the child. It's Carthoris, this child of Dejah Thoris and Carter. And that story she's telling, she's telling the story of the father that this child will never know.
"Never know" because daddy disappeared on his wedding night and has been gone for we don't know how many years. Stanton continues:
And then her dad, Ciarán Hinds' character, Tardos Mors, said she's been up too long, she's tired, let her grandfather have a moment with the child and I'll put her to bed. Then it was going to be revealed to be Matai Shang in shapeshifting mode. And he was going to steal the baby. And then it was going to go onto the opening credits. The next image after the opening credits was going to be Carter lying in his funeral suit in the middle of the desert, just looking like a dead body in a wake and just waking up.
So he'd return after the opening credits and things picked up from there:
Then he's just going to take off his jacket like it was nothing and just start walking. And then eventually, just like out of Lawrence of Arabia, way out in the horizon, is going to come a Thark on a thoat. And he's going to surprise Carter by saying he knows exactly who he is and there's been somebody looking for you. He brings him to a camp and it's Kantos Kan which is James Purefoy, who'd been searching forever off of any river where this guy went. And so shocked that he's found him. And then he says, 'You have to get back now to heal him.' And he gets back and you think it's going to be a reunion, only to find out that there's been some time between the prologue and the main credits.
So how old is the child at this point? How has Barsoom dealt with the kidnapping? And how will they react to John Carter's return? That's only part of what the movie is about.
Now Dejah's gone missing. She's convinced that the Therns took their child and if Carter ever comes back, she went down the River Iss to try and find him. And then, like Beneath the Planet of the Apes, it all takes place, everybody going into the earth to find out who's really been controlling the whole planet. There's a whole race down there that has been with high tech. Basically, it's been a third world without anybody knowing it on the top of the surface and the first world's been inside the whole time operating the air, the water, the everything to keep the world functioning.
So the film would have had Carter's return to Barsoom only to find his princess missing, child kidnapped, and a whole new world below the surface of the planet. Pretty epic. "And yeah, I can keep going," Stanton concluded. "But I've never told anybody the beginning of that. You can hold that dear."
Fans of John Carter need to head over to the Wrap to read the rest of the piece. There are stories of Disney taming down Dejah's character, the moments when the cast and crew realized it wasn't going to be a hit, as well as the full history of the production, and more. Definitely check it out.
Wondering where our RSS feed went? You can pick the new one up here.
io9MoviesSci-Fi


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Claudia specializes on marketing and communications for humanitarian causes and her expertise includes image and reputation, digital marketing, branding, social media, celebrities, and high profile events and campaigns.
She has travelled around the world's most extreme war and crisis zones and launched programmes and campaigns to get public awareness and support to social causes.
Claudia holds degrees on Media and Communications and Philosophy as well as a masters from LSE on media and political communications. She speaks 6 languages and has two kids.


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The Solaris Service Management Facility (SMF) is an update to the traditional UNIX /etc/init.d/ scripts. SMF provides better control of services, and allows for a standardised method for defining service properties. For example, under "Service Properties" below, you can specify the IP port number to use, the path to a configuration file, a userID to run as, the network address to listen on, or anything else that might be customisable for the service.
There is a good article on the subject at http://www.sun.com/bigadmin/content/selfheal/smf-quickstart.jsp, but in a nutshell, what you need to provide, is a startup/shutdown script (which may even be the exact same script as previously used in /etc/init.d) and an XML file which describes and defines the service.
Using this web page, you can specify how you want your service to work, and download an automatically generated ZIP file containing these two files, as well as a README file and a shell script which will register the service with the system.
An SMF Service Name looks something like "svc:/system/zones:default". The Category is fixed; below that, you can put as many subsections as you like (even none), separated by the "/" slash character.
The service can be manually enabled via 'svcadm enable myapp'.
You can add any custom properties here that you want. These can be edited in svcprop, and accessed by the service to get custom configurations. Examples are: location of log files, network ports to use, username to run as, and so on. You can then edit the startup script to access these variables.
The Startup command is required; if you leave Shutdown blank, the processes will be killed. Refresh is optional. Any of the variables defined in "Service Properties" above are available in normal shell format. This can be used for user-settable fields, such as port number, config file, instance name, etc.
You can probably leave most of these blank; Simply specify any services that your service depends upon, in the appropriate category (All, Any, or If-Enabled).
You can provide links here to the documentation for the system. This will be shown by the 'svcs myapp' command, amongst others.
Click this button to download a ZIP archive containing the necessary config XML, a sample startup/shutdown script, a README file explaining what to do, and a setup script to automate the whole thing for you.


Ariana enjoys blogging and nurtures interest on all most all topics. She contributes in many reputed blogs, social platforms and makes her living as a content writer. She is associated with Content Rally, is a publishing platform designed to make great stories by content creators.


text:
Home Exporting Markets Countries Burundi
Find importers from Burundi >
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Burundi is a small country in East Africa bordered by Tanzania, Rwanda, and Lake Tanganyika. Burundi gained its independence from Belgium in 1962. Much of its history has been turbulent, and Burundi's first democratically elected president was assassinated in October 1993 after only 100 days in office. The internationally brokered Arusha Agreement ended the 1993-2005 civil war, paving the way for a new constitution and 2005 elections. Pierre NKURUNZIZA was elected president in 2005 and 2010 and again in a controversial election in 2015. Burundi continues to face many political and economic challenges.
Central Africa, east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, west of Tanzania
nickel, uranium, rare earth oxides, peat, cobalt, copper, platinum, vanadium, arable land, hydropower, niobium, tantalum, gold, tin, tungsten, kaolin, limestone
one of Africa's most densely populated countries; concentrations tend to be in the north and along the northern shore of Lake Tanganyika in the west; most people live on farms near areas of fertile volcanic soil
Kirundi 29.7% (official), Kirundi and other language 9.1%, French (official) and French and other language 0.3%, Swahili and Swahili and other language 0.2% (along Lake Tanganyika and in the Bujumbura area), English (official) and English and other language 0.06%, more than 2 languages 3.7%, unspecified 56.9%
BUJUMBURA (capital) 751,000 (2015)
Republic of Burundi
Republique du Burundi/Republika y'u Burundi
3 22 S, 29 21 E
UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction
Burundi is a landlocked, resource-poor country with an underdeveloped manufacturing sector. Agriculture accounts for over 40% of GDP and employs more than 90% of the population. Burundi's primary exports are coffee and tea, which account for more than 60% of foreign exchange earnings. Thus, Burundi's export earnings - and its ability to pay for imports - rest primarily on favorable weather conditions and international coffee and tea prices, although exports are a relatively small share of GDP. Burundi is heavily dependent on aid from bilateral and multilateral donors. Foreign aid represented 48% of Burundi's national income in 2015, one of the highest percentages in Sub-Saharan Africa, but decreased to 33.5% in 2016. Burundi joined the East African Community (EAC) in 2009.
US$ -374,695,607
coffee, cotton, tea, corn, beans, sorghum, sweet potatoes, bananas, cassava (manioc, tapioca); beef, milk, hides
light consumer goods (sugar, shoes, soap, beer); cement, assembly of imported components; public works construction; food processing (fruits)
coffee, tea, sugar, cotton, hides
Germany 12.9%, Pakistan 11.2%, Democratic Republic of the Congo 11.2%, Uganda 8.5%, Sweden 8.2%, US 7.5%, Belgium 6.6%, Rwanda 4.8%, France 4.6% (2015)
capital goods, petroleum products, foodstuffs
Kenya 15%, Saudi Arabia 14%, Belgium 10%, Tanzania 8.4%, Uganda 7.4%, China 7.1%, India 4.9%, France 4% (2015)
The highest possible risk in terms of business climate. Due to a lack of available financial information and an unpredictable legal system, doing business in this country is extremely difficult.
Natural resources (coffee, tea, minerals)
Cancellation of 75% of external public debt in 2009
Membership of the East Africa Community (EAC) and the African Union (AU)
Tense political context
Growing tensions on the border with Rwanda
Poorly diversified economy and vulnerable to external shocks
Geographic isolation
Activity hampered by lack of infrastructure and limited access to electricity
International aid suspended following political crisis
Growth suffering from political crisis, international sanctions and drought
Hit by the political deadlock and the sanctions imposed by the international community, Burundi's economy contracted for the second consecutive year in 2016. The recovery will continue at a slow pace in 2017. The political crisis plunged the country into a position of economic weakness which was exacerbated in 2016 with the suspension of direct aid from the main bilateral donors to the government. This situation is expected to persist in 2017. With the suspension of direct financial support supplied by the EU to Bujumbura, Burundi suffers from a lack of foreign exchange and has thus seen a rise in the cost of imports. Private consumption by impoverished households is thus unlikely to support growth. Moreover, given the low government revenues, public infrastructure investment will be curbed, thus hampering the construction sector. Agriculture, which represents more than a third of GDP and employs 80% of the population, is, for its part, expected to be hit by the drought, triggered by the weather phenomenon La Niña. Finally, the gradual increase in coffee and tea prices will be offset by the ban on exporting foodstuffs to bordering countries, a decision prompted, among other things, by the rise in tensions with Rwanda. Given the problems with the weather and the slight increase in oil, coffee and tea prices, inflation rose in 2016. Prices are projected to continue to climb in 2017, driven by downward pressure on the Burundi franc and La Niña which would trigger upward pressure on food prices.
The suspension international aid is increasing the pressure on the twin deficits
The public deficit (excluding grants) is expected to widen in 2017, hit by the withdrawal of international aid. Measures aimed at maximizing income flows in 2016, like the compulsory purchase of a "household booklet" (family record book aimed at controlling population movements) for 2,000 Burundi francs (1 dollar) or a vest for all bicycle taxi drivers, have helped reduce the deficit only temporarily in 2016. With regard to spending, the main measure aims to transfer responsibility for teachers' salaries (82% of civil service salaries) to the local authorities. In deciding to leave the International Criminal Court (ICC) Burundi has, moreover, certainly worsened its position vis-à-vis its bilateral funders. The pressure on the public accounts will, therefore, intensify in 2017. Deprived of external financial aid, the current account deficit is projected to widen in 2017 also. The trade balance will remain broadly in deficit given the very limited export base, dominated by coffee and tea. The ban, since August 2016, on exporting foodstuffs to bordering countries, which account for 17% of exports (in 2015, 30% in 2014), will also hit the trade balance. Heavily reliant on imports, the country will find it difficult to reduce the volume in 2017. The persistence of considerable public and current account deficits, together with the suspension of international aid, exposes the country to the risk of over-indebtedness in the years to come. These deficits also put pressure on the Burundi franc, which is set to continue to depreciate against the dollar, despite the Central Bank's interventions to support its currency.
On the brink of civil war, Burundi is isolating itself from international support
Though Burundi had implemented significant political changes in favor of democracy since the end of the civil war in 2005 and the socio-economic situation had improved, the country would appear, once again, to be on the point of collapse. The situation in Burundi deteriorated following President Pierre Nkurunziza's decision to stand for a third term (in breach of Constitution) and his re-election on 21 July 2015. This election gave rise to a large number of demonstrations by the opposition, the general population and was widely criticized by the international observers. The tensions have since become palpable between the ruling party (CNDD-FDD), the opposition and civil society. The ICC has put the number of deaths at 430 and the number of arrests at 3,400 since the start of the political crisis. Accordingly, in April 2016, the ICC prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, opened a preliminary enquiry into the violence and crimes committed since April 2015. In October 2016, the Burundian government responded by announcing its decision to leave the international court. Coming after Burundi suspended its cooperation with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights over a report referring to genocide in September 2016, this decision increases Burundi's isolation from the international community. In this context, the business climate will continue to be highly degraded. The crisis in Burundi and the flight of over 320,000 refugees, according to the UN, between April 2015 and December 2016, has strained relations with the other countries in the Great Lakes region, already struggling with porous borders, political instability and ethnic conflicts. Specifically, diplomatic relations between Burundi and Rwanda are steadily worsening. The country, which contributes to the African Union mission in Somalia, is also under the threat of terrorist attacks by Al-Shabaab.


Dr Paul Eliadis is a Brisbane Oncologist and founder of the Haematology and Oncology Clinics of Australia (HOCA) who steadfastly supports medical research that promotes quality of life in cancer patient treatment and care.
A 35-year focus on Clinical Haematology and Oncology has conversely led to an equally diligent appreciation for the arts, ancient history and the classics. His later philanthropic support has been through a much needed funding donation to the University of Queensland that led to the foundation of the Chair of Ancient History and the Classics housed in the renamed School for Historical and Philosophical Inquiry.