text:
Welcoming the World: Governing Hospitality in London's 2012 Olympic Bid
Dan Bulley, Debbie Lisle
London's successful bid for the 2012 Olympic Games presented a diverse, cosmopolitan city opening its arms and "welcoming the world." This article explores the apparently benign gesture of hospitality contained in London's official candidature files submitted in 2004 and asks how such a promise of inclusiveness is managed. We argue that London's depiction of itself as hospitable to every kind of visitor relies on subtle techniques of governmentality in which the subject positions of "host" and "guest" are imagined and produced in ways that make them more governable. By this, we are not referring to acts of authority, coercion, or discipline that exclude subjects or render them docile bodies within a rigid panoptical city. Rather, we are referring to the delicate ways in which the official bid document imagines and produces the ideal subject positions of host and guest and in so doing enables, encourages, and incentivizes certain behaviors. This analysis of urban welcoming takes us beyond reductive oppositions of hospitality and hostility, inclusion and exclusion, self and other. It focuses instead on how London's inclusive welcome produces a variety of host and guest positions (for example, the "Olympic Family," volunteers, guest workers), segregates them within the city, and then "conducts their conduct" in the areas of planning, security, transport, accommodation, education, and training. By analyzing the techniques of governmentality at work in London's 2004 bid document, this article foregrounds the enabling form of power driving the city's inclusive welcome and exposes its inherent micropolitics.
International Political Sociology
Fingerprint Dive into the research topics of 'Welcoming the World: Governing Hospitality in London's 2012 Olympic Bid'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.
governmentality Social Sciences
honorary office Social Sciences
micro-politics Social Sciences
Olympic Games Social Sciences
accommodation Social Sciences
opposition Social Sciences
exclusion Social Sciences
inclusion Social Sciences
Bulley, D., & Lisle, D. (2012). Welcoming the World: Governing Hospitality in London's 2012 Olympic Bid. International Political Sociology, 6(2), 186-204. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-5687.2012.00158.x
Bulley, Dan ; Lisle, Debbie. / Welcoming the World: Governing Hospitality in London's 2012 Olympic Bid. In: International Political Sociology. 2012 ; Vol. 6, No. 2. pp. 186-204.
@article{bcf2e345217d4ffb977dd1fc5fbd3752,
title = "Welcoming the World: Governing Hospitality in London's 2012 Olympic Bid",
abstract = "London{\textquoteright}s successful bid for the 2012 Olympic Games presented a diverse, cosmopolitan city opening its arms and "welcoming the world." This article explores the apparently benign gesture of hospitality contained in London{\textquoteright}s official candidature files submitted in 2004 and asks how such a promise of inclusiveness is managed. We argue that London{\textquoteright}s depiction of itself as hospitable to every kind of visitor relies on subtle techniques of governmentality in which the subject positions of "host" and "guest" are imagined and produced in ways that make them more governable. By this, we are not referring to acts of authority, coercion, or discipline that exclude subjects or render them docile bodies within a rigid panoptical city. Rather, we are referring to the delicate ways in which the official bid document imagines and produces the ideal subject positions of host and guest and in so doing enables, encourages, and incentivizes certain behaviors. This analysis of urban welcoming takes us beyond reductive oppositions of hospitality and hostility, inclusion and exclusion, self and other. It focuses instead on how London{\textquoteright}s inclusive welcome produces a variety of host and guest positions (for example, the "Olympic Family," volunteers, guest workers), segregates them within the city, and then "conducts their conduct" in the areas of planning, security, transport, accommodation, education, and training. By analyzing the techniques of governmentality at work in London{\textquoteright}s 2004 bid document, this article foregrounds the enabling form of power driving the city{\textquoteright}s inclusive welcome and exposes its inherent micropolitics.",
author = "Dan Bulley and Debbie Lisle",
journal = "International Political Sociology",
Bulley, D & Lisle, D 2012, 'Welcoming the World: Governing Hospitality in London's 2012 Olympic Bid', International Political Sociology, vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 186-204. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-5687.2012.00158.x
Welcoming the World: Governing Hospitality in London's 2012 Olympic Bid. / Bulley, Dan; Lisle, Debbie.
In: International Political Sociology, Vol. 6, No. 2, 06.2012, p. 186-204.
T1 - Welcoming the World: Governing Hospitality in London's 2012 Olympic Bid
AU - Bulley, Dan
AU - Lisle, Debbie
N2 - London's successful bid for the 2012 Olympic Games presented a diverse, cosmopolitan city opening its arms and "welcoming the world." This article explores the apparently benign gesture of hospitality contained in London's official candidature files submitted in 2004 and asks how such a promise of inclusiveness is managed. We argue that London's depiction of itself as hospitable to every kind of visitor relies on subtle techniques of governmentality in which the subject positions of "host" and "guest" are imagined and produced in ways that make them more governable. By this, we are not referring to acts of authority, coercion, or discipline that exclude subjects or render them docile bodies within a rigid panoptical city. Rather, we are referring to the delicate ways in which the official bid document imagines and produces the ideal subject positions of host and guest and in so doing enables, encourages, and incentivizes certain behaviors. This analysis of urban welcoming takes us beyond reductive oppositions of hospitality and hostility, inclusion and exclusion, self and other. It focuses instead on how London's inclusive welcome produces a variety of host and guest positions (for example, the "Olympic Family," volunteers, guest workers), segregates them within the city, and then "conducts their conduct" in the areas of planning, security, transport, accommodation, education, and training. By analyzing the techniques of governmentality at work in London's 2004 bid document, this article foregrounds the enabling form of power driving the city's inclusive welcome and exposes its inherent micropolitics.
AB - London's successful bid for the 2012 Olympic Games presented a diverse, cosmopolitan city opening its arms and "welcoming the world." This article explores the apparently benign gesture of hospitality contained in London's official candidature files submitted in 2004 and asks how such a promise of inclusiveness is managed. We argue that London's depiction of itself as hospitable to every kind of visitor relies on subtle techniques of governmentality in which the subject positions of "host" and "guest" are imagined and produced in ways that make them more governable. By this, we are not referring to acts of authority, coercion, or discipline that exclude subjects or render them docile bodies within a rigid panoptical city. Rather, we are referring to the delicate ways in which the official bid document imagines and produces the ideal subject positions of host and guest and in so doing enables, encourages, and incentivizes certain behaviors. This analysis of urban welcoming takes us beyond reductive oppositions of hospitality and hostility, inclusion and exclusion, self and other. It focuses instead on how London's inclusive welcome produces a variety of host and guest positions (for example, the "Olympic Family," volunteers, guest workers), segregates them within the city, and then "conducts their conduct" in the areas of planning, security, transport, accommodation, education, and training. By analyzing the techniques of governmentality at work in London's 2004 bid document, this article foregrounds the enabling form of power driving the city's inclusive welcome and exposes its inherent micropolitics.
JO - International Political Sociology
JF - International Political Sociology
Bulley D, Lisle D. Welcoming the World: Governing Hospitality in London's 2012 Olympic Bid. International Political Sociology. 2012 Jun;6(2):186-204. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-5687.2012.00158.x


text:
I Had to Run
Imagine you have to leave your home immediately, and you have little time to grab anything to take with you. You don't know where you are going—you just know you have to flee for your life. Many people face a similar situation—one in every 113 people on the earth, in fact. There are 65 million people living in a state of limbo, and they don't know what's going to happen to them, but they do know they can't go home. After losing their homes, often their loved ones, and sometimes their identity, they desperately hope for safety and a new home. This episode is where data science meets refugees.
Hadidja Nyiransekuye: "It wasn't until I started having as a teacher and a principal of a school when people come in the middle of the night to come attack my house. That's when I decided I think I need to run again."
Ginette Methot-Seare: "I'm Ginette Methot-Seare, and you are listening to Data Crunch, a Vault Analytics production."
Hadidja: "Just think about something threatening you. Your first reaction would be to duck away from the noise or from whatever is threatening you. Now think about somebody coming with a gun or with a machete, threatening not only your life but the life of your loved ones. You run, you run. Everybody does."
Ginette: "And that's exactly what Hadidja Nyiransekuye did twice."
Hadidja: "The first time I run, I run because I needed to run."
Ginette: "She was fleeing from bombs."
Hadidja: "It was a mass exodus. Everybody was running, so we run like everybody else."
Ginette: "Hadidja had to flee in her PJs with four children. One of them, a baby on her back."
Hadidja: "My little girl, Lydia, was eight at the time, and I had two of my nieces."
Ginette: "Her husband, who was imminent danger, fled first. And her boys also ran before her."
Hadidja: "It was hot. We were thirsty and hungry. And these young people were perched on . . ."
Ginette: "pickup trucks"
Hadidja: "And they would say, 'Keep moving, keep moving! There's a nice place called Mugunga; that's where you'll get food and you'll get water and you'll get shelter. And I remember saying to myself, 'People are dying of Cholera, and I'm going to Mugunga on foot—like 50 miles?' I just didn't think I was going to make it."
Ginette: "As a child, Hadidja had polio. Everyone one in 200 polio cases leaves its victims permanently paralyzed. For Hadidja, while her virus didn't paralyze her, it left her disabled. She walks with a cane and a leg brace."
Hadidja: "At the time, I actually ended up at the Center for People with Disability in the Congo because I had been treated there in my teens. And of course, you just wished people would just let you spread your mat or something you have on their door so you can spend the night there. But they were asking us to get out of the city, to go to that place where they were going to be building refugee camps, so in those conditions, you actually, you hear what other people are saying. Well you just follow because it's not like you have a choice. Nobody knows where they are going when they are refugees. That's why they're called forced migrants."
Ginette: "Let me go back and fill in some holes for you. Hadidja's story starts . . . "
Hadidja: "in the town of Gisenyi. That's where I was born and raised."
Ginette: "Her town is right inside the border of Rwanda."
Hadidja: "It's at the border of former Zaire, now Democratic Republic of Congo."
Ginette: "As she grew, she gained an education, became involved in women's movements, and taught modern languages with an emphasis in applied linguistics. During that time, she married her husband, and they had four children. But then in the 1990s things became precarious in her country."
Hadidja: "People tend to think that the war in Rwanda started in '94. Actually the war started on October 1, 1990."
Ginette: "Hadidja is referencing an invasion of a group of mostly Tutsis, a minority group, that invaded Rwanda in 1990. What fueled this invasion was a history of ethnic tensions.
"The Tutsis had been in power during colonization. Eventually, they were ousted by the Hutus. Thirty years later, after the Hutus ousted the Tutsis, the Tutsi invasion that affected Hadidja took place."
"Then, the president agreed to a transitional government that would include the Tutsis. Hutu extremists were angry about this decision, and some people believe that they were the ones who shot down the president's plane. Within an hour after the plane was shot down, extremist groups set up roadblocks and started threatening the lives of Tutsi and moderate Hutus."
Ginette: "The first time Hadidja ran was around the time of the Rwandan genocide. Eventually, she returned home.
Hadidja: "After a month, I went back. I went home. I didn't want to stay."
Ginette: But after she returned home, things didn't get better. This was post the Rwandan genocide where people in Rwanda were disappearing in the middle of the night—and even in broad daylight—never to be found again. The quote we shared with you at the beginning of the podcast fits in here. As people came to attack her house in the middle of the night, Hadidja ran for the second time."
Hadidja: "My husband has run before because he was a Tutsi, so he wasn't even going to stay. Me as a Hutu woman, I thought, 'my people will protect me.' Well they didn't."
Ginette: "It's not that her people didn't want to protect her. It was that her people couldn't protect her. The killers were getting ruthless and were killing anyone who sided with or was related to a Tutsi."
Hadidja: "In 1994, that option of going home was taken away from me. And I remember getting to the Congo because that's where I was first. And the humiliation. The Congolese saying to us, Rwandans are stupid or they are barbaric. We just killed our president, and then we turned against each other, and people were dying of Cholera. And I remember them saying they didn't want us to bury our dead people in the Congo. They said the Congo belonged to the Congolese. They wanted us to take our dead bodies back to Rwanda. Can you imagine how humiliating that is?
"Some of the people I know were teachers like I was. Some of them were doctors. Some of them were judges. Some of them were business people. But when you're on the road with only the clothes that you're wearing, nobody looks at you in those terms. Nobody, nobody thinks about you as a person who was once a pillar of his or her own society.
"I don't know of any refugee that chooses to be a refugee. We are forced into it. We are forced to leave our countries. We are forced to leave our homes. Sometimes we are forced to leave our identity. And all we are asking for is a safe place."
Ginette: "This is a subject Hadidja knows well, not only from her own experience, which you can read more about in her book The Lances Were Looking Down, but also from a professional perspective. After Hadidja came to the United States, she received her master's degree in social work, went on to receive a Ph.D. in the same, and published her dissertation on refugee woman called At the Receiving End: A Phenomenological Study of Great Lakes Region African Women as Recipients of Refugee Services in the United States."
Hadidja: "I remember interviewing refugee women for my dissertation, and I said, 'So, what were you expecting when you were going to America? What were you think was going to happen?' And all of them, unequivocally, all said, 'We knew we were going to be resting. We knew that nobody was going to be knocking at our door to kill us.' Very few think about becoming rich or taking advantage of a system or anything. They just want to be safe. And I can't think of anybody else who doesn't."
Ginette: "Victor Hugo, who was a French refugee, wrote this about where he relocated, 'I am in exile, and I am happy to be here . . . though it is always painful to tread on foreign soil.'
"Albert Einstein, also a refugee, wrote to the Belgian Queen, 'I am privileged by fate to live here in Princeton. In this small university town, the chaotic voices of human strife barely penetrate. I am almost ashamed to be living in such peace while all the rest struggle and suffer.'"
"There are 65 million refugees in the world, and the United States only accepts a small portion of them."
Chris Kelley: "The United States handpicks less than 1 percent of the world's refugees to resettle in the US."
Ginette: "This is Chris Kelley of the Refugee Services of Texas, the largest refugee resettlement agency in the state. A state that in the past year resettled more than any other state except California, which resettled only 100 more."
Chris: "To be a refugee, you have to prove that where you live is unsafe either due to war or persecution based on a number of factors, but mostly just safety. And after 18 months to two years of rigorous security vetting—these include things like biometric checks, forensic tests, medical screenings, in-person interviews—then you get to be resettled, but only after this thorough security vetting."
Ginette: "Last year, I went to hear a refugee officer speak about the refugee vetting process, and I was surprised at its intensity, which I already figured was rigorous. We were told that if mothers or fathers paid a ransom to a terrorist organization for the return of their kidnapped child, it is considered monetarily supporting terrorists, and they would not be allowed to come to the United States.
"In my mind that particular situation seemed unfair, but that is the bar these refugees have to meet in order to come to the United States."
Chris: "Primarily moms and dads with small kids are our clients."
Ginette: "As a side note, being a recent transplant to Austin, Texas, I was curious about our state's refugee involvement and learned that the governor recently pulled the state out of the refugee program, so I asked Chris about this."
Chris: "The domestic terrorism threat has nothing to do with refugees. It's fear, and fear mongering against refugees is dangerous."
Ginette: "Since this is a charged subject, I wanted to explore the numbers. So I talked to someone who had gathered statistics."
Matt Chaterdon: "I was looking for some statistics, because with the presidential election, and even before that with 31 or 32 governors of US states, said that they didn't want specifically Syrian refugees coming to their states."
Ginette: "This is Matt Chaterdon. He has twelve years of experience providing refugee services. He now coordinates work in several states for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops."
Matt: "I wanted to find what research was out there to address some of the fears that people have."
Ginette: "He found several statistics that he shared with us, but one that struck me is from Alex Nowrasteh of the Cato Institute."
Matt: "The chance of being murdered in a terrorist attack committed [on US soil] by a refugee is one in 3.4 billion a year."
Ginette: "According to this statistic, your chance of being murdered in a terrorist attack committed on US soil by a refugee in any given year is less than dying from an ingrown nail, based on David Taylor's work with the CDC's Compressed Mortality File.
"Let's compare this to other mortality odds. According to the Economist, your chance of death by asteroid impact in the US in any given year is about 1 in 75 million.
"The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration estimates that your chance of being struck by lightning in the US is about 1 in a million.
"Let's consider the magnitude of difference there: we're talking millions versus billions.
"So the chance of this threat affecting you is virtually nonexistent.
"In this discussion, it's important not to confuse refugee status with other forms of entry to the country, such as the B visa, which is the most common tourist visa. The statistics for these categories are very different. This is why Alex Nowrasteh spells out in one of his articles that governments must consider the wide range of visa categories when making policy decisions.
"The politically charged and inaccurately informed rhetoric enveloping this particular situation is a classic example of how humans poorly assess risk because of something called the availability heuristic.
"Our brains tend to put more weight on the probability of a particular situation happening when we hear more about it—such as instances of terrorism. Think about how often you've heard about terrorism in the news over the past year. Because the public is inundated with these messages, we associate a high risk with situations like refugees coming into the country, even though the risk of refugees killing people in acts of terrorism in the United States is virtually nonexistent. On the other hand, more mundane things that are more likely to harm you, such as getting into an accident on your way to work every day, are hardly noted. When people make policy decisions based on these emotional risk levels, it essentially means we give up the chance to help more refugees in need because of a false fear.
"Despite all of this, there are many people in the country who are working very hard to help refugees.
"So what happens after refugees arrive in the United States, and how successful is resettlement?"
Amy Crownover: "Well my name is Amy Crownover, and I am the Marketing and Communications director of New American Pathways. New American Pathways is a resettlement organization in Georgia that really serves refugees and other new Americans from time of arrival all the way through citizenship. Every resettlement organization in the nation, whether you have the benefit of being that one in Hawaii or Minnesota or Iowa or Georgia, the resettlement services we are required to provide are the same.
"We hear about refugee families when they finally get that word that they are going to be one of the lucky ones that get resettled about two weeks before arrival. That has traditionally been the case, and in the last few months, it's actually been even shorter than that. It's just a few days.
"In that time, we are tasked with finding an apartment . . ."
Ginette: "During a busy rental season in a saturated housing market, like the areas New American Pathways has traditionally been settling refugees, finding available apartments can be difficult."
Amy: " . . . getting it set up with furnishings all the basic furnishings—we actually have a contract exactly right down to the number of toothbrushes and forks that have to be in the house based on the number of people in the family. We set that up. We do have an allotment per refugee for covering those initial expenses in what we call the resettlement period, which is the first three months.
"The moment that they arrive, we actually meet them at the airport. We are the first smiling faces that they see after a very exhausting travel, usually more than a day or two.
"Our case managers are actually representatives of the refugee communities themselves. So we are often able to provide language, also culturally competent services, so the people that are receiving them at the airport are often from their own communities, and we take them to their new apartment and start to get them acclimated."
Ginette: "The cooperative agreements mandate that families are financially self-sufficient within six months of arrival."
Amy: "One of the first things that we teach our refugee families is how to use MARTA."
Ginette: "This is Atlanta's public bus and rail system."
Amy: "As you can imagine, that where we place them is important that it has public transportation because they are not going to be able to typically drive for some time."
Ginette: "Knowing how to use public transportation is critically important for refugees. They need it to get to work, school, and the New American Pathways office for English class."
Amy: "When you think about those challenges, you know, language and transportation, and people are coming from war-torn countries. I mean, let's be honest, there's so much more that's a factor. People are coming from severe trauma. And the fact that in our state, over it's about 87 percent of our families are self-sufficient within 180 days of arrival, and we define that as they're actually earning income and paying their own bills."
Ginette: "That's an impressive statistic. Eighty-seven percent of these refugees are paying their own bills within six months of arrival to the United States when they may not speak English when they step off the plane.
"This summer, one group of data scientists chose New American Pathways to be a recipient of a free data tool. The goal was to reduce the amount of time it takes the organization to find housing for new refugees."
Bistra Dilkina: "My name is Bistra Dilkina. I am an assistant professor at Georgia Tech in the college of computing. I also participated first as a mentor and now as a codirector of a very special program that Georgia Tech has. It's called Data Science for Social Good.
"The idea behind these programs is to work in groups with nonprofits and local organizations to solve problems that they have that require data science.
"This project was with New American Pathways."
Amy: "Oh gosh, we are so lucky to have been chosen for that project. We actually met Bistra, I believe it was through a mutual nonprofit that suggested that we get in touch, and the first day, I remember going into her office and sitting down, and she showed me many of the projects that they had worked on in the past with other groups. And I was absolutely blown away. It was amazing to really sit down with her and explain to her what we do and what our challenges are, and she really helped us to come up with something that might be helpful. We had not idea what might even be possible."
Ginette: "This is common. Often people don't know what data science can do for them or for their organizations. Frequently, it only takes a conversation to clearly see how they can benefit.
"In the case of New American Pathways, during their conversation they found something that was . . ."
Bistra: " . . . a big pain point for their organization because they would spend a lot of time counting manually, basically, potential apartment complexes."
Amy: "And she really tasked us with coming up with our set of priorities that would help to shape the team and what they would need to do to shape this tool. So she basically looked at it and said, what if we had a map where we could put in some various factors that are really important to the success of a new resettlement site, and then you were able to hone in on those particular factors, really sliding in and out of what our priorities were, so that it would isolate different areas of the city."
Bistra: "The team of students actually went back there, and we talked to them about what are the key things that they need to know in order to select appropriate apartments. Talking to the actual case worker, the actual person within New American Pathways that was doing most of the apartment scouting was really informative."
Ginette: "This is a really good example of the soft skills needed in data science—talking to people and really understanding what they need from data to do their work better."
Bistra: "And so from that, we identified which of the things are most important to them, and which of those things we can actually find available as open data."
Amy: "The wonderful team, Unaiza and Sasha and Wes, They were so, so excited about the project; they really got into it, and they had each their own personal story for becoming involved."
Bistra: "And so the things that we identified, the critical thing was affordability; they need to be close to public transit. Beyond that, they also mentioned a few other factors that were important: (1) vicinity of supermarkets, and especially if we could get information about whether they were international supermarkets so they can get the kind of food they are familiar with from home; (2) schools—a lot of the refugee families come with kids; and also (3) faith centers.
"And so we actually identified that all of these things we could find by using things like Google API. In fact Google API was our biggest workhorse for finding data. For the affordability and the job accessibility, we used census data, which is also publically available. This is government data. And finally for the schools, we used something called the GreatSchools API, where you can actually pull the locations of all the schools in an area, but additionally, you can have what percentage of kids in that school are participating in the free lunch program, which was also an important thing.
"What we did is we create a superimposed grid over the metro-Atlanta area, and then for every grid, we calculated a score for each of the individual assets. How close is that grid to a school? How close is that grid to a supermarket? How affordable is that particular grid? When they change the weights through these sliders that we have on our interactive tools, those individual scores were combined dynamically with the weights that the user would put in, and then the heat map would reconfigure itself, and they would be able to zoom into the areas that best match that prioritization."
Amy: "They really looked at all of those things and were able to give us a training tool at the end that said, 'We examined all of these different platforms, and we pulled the things that were the most economically viable.' So at this point, we don't have any costs associated with the housing tool, and they've given us a training document that will allow us to update the tool, they suggested monthly so that we have current complexes in there.
"They were very generous in saying, 'Here's the framework; let's see how this works, and then if we can share it with other resettlement organizations, we would love to do that.'"
Bistra: "It can help any refugee resettlement agency in the area. In order to port this to another city, you would need to run the Google API scraping, kind of putting together, for that particular locale. So it would require some effort and some data science skills. The students basically put all of their code on Github, freely available, in order to exactly facilitate if anybody wants to reproduce this for another city."
Ginette: "If you're a data scientist and interested in helping refugees, we've listed in our show notes this Github link to the open source code, along with a link to refugee services by state.
"Also, be sure to sign up for our email list at vaultanalytics.com for data science tips and tricks.
"Finally, we've discovered another data science podcast that we really like, and we think you should also check out called Especially Big Data.
"A special thanks to all the people that have participated and made this possible."
Some Sources
What it takes to survive as an orphan in a Congolese refugee camp
http://www.unhcr.org/en-us/figures-at-a-glance.html
http://www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail/2013/02/daily-chart-7?fsrc=scn/tw/te/dc/dangerofdeath%20
http://rwandatousa.blogspot.com/p/biography.html
http://refugeecongress.org/hadidja-nyiransekuye/
http://bookstore.iuniverse.com/Products/SKU-000137500/The-Lances-Were-Looking-Down.aspx
http://www.state.gov/j/prm/releases/statistics/
http://www.wrapsnet.org/Portals/1/arrivals/Arrivals%20by%20State%20-%20Map(10.11.16).pdf?ver=2016-10-18-123100-220
http://gov.texas.gov/news/press-release/22682
http://gov.texas.gov/files/press-office/RefugeeResettlementLetter_09212016.pdf
Refugee Integration in the United States
https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/orr/orr_annual_report_to_congress_fy_2014_signed.pdf
Infographic: The Screening Process for Entry to the United States for Syrian Refugees
http://www.immigrationresearch-info.org/report/other/impact-refugees-central-ohio-2015-report
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/orr/resource/annual-orr-reports-to-congress
http://www.cato.org/blog/terrorism-risk-asylum-seekers-refugees-minnesota-new-york-new-jersey-terrorist-attacks
http://www.cato.org/publications/policy-analysis/terrorism-immigration-risk-analysis
http://www.lightningsafety.noaa.gov/odds.shtml
http://www.prooffreader.com/search?q=CDC
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/02/160209-meteorite-death-india-probability-odds/
Perceived Risk vs. Actual Risk
http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/10/science-lessons-next-president
https://github.com/uahsan3/NAP2016
Introducing Our New Podcast—Data Crunch The Predictive Power of Waffles

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Almost half the world — over three billion people — live on less than $2.50 a day. Avicenna Vision, a registered Canadian non-profit organization, provides a platform for aspiring individuals to fight global poverty by donating time, skills and resources.
Avicenna Vision's approach is unique as we utilize 100% of the donations in creating self sufficient grass roots projects.
Copyright Avicenna Vision. All rights reserved.


text:
It is time to talk about Christchurch's racist past, and present
Rawiri Taonui | Guest writer
Cantabrians have shown great compassion and generosity to Muslim and migrant communities following the terrorist attacks. But properly healing the wounds of March 15 also requires facing up to the city's racist history, writes Dr Rawiri Taonui
Content warning: this post includes offensive images and descriptions of violence and racist language.
Following the terrorist attacks in Christchurch three months ago, Mayor Lianne Dalziel said the shooter was an outsider who had imported "hatred" and "extremism" into a city that was neither white supremist nor Islamophobic. It is certainly true that the accused gunman was born and raised in Australia, and that his New Zealand base had been Dunedin. It is true, too, that the tragedy inspired an overwhelming display of compassion and generosity from the wider Christchurch community toward Muslim and migrant communities. But none of that should blind us to another truth: the seam of racism that runs through the city's history.
On Friday, outside the High Court in Christchurch, where the accused in the mosque murders had earlier pleaded not guilty, a man was reported to be expressing Nazi views in the direction of survivors of the attacks. It would be comforting to think this was an aberration in Christchurch's story. It is no such thing.
The city's violent, white supremacist past needs to be addressed in order to heal from the wounds of March 15.
My life in Christchurch
Christchurch is a great city. I lived there for 10 years. During the aftermath of the main earthquake, people helped each other. Neighbours dug liquefaction out of each other's yards. My family ran a relief effort in the eastern suburbs.
On my first day as a senior lecturer at the University of Canterbury a neighbour rang to report that "a large Māori man has just come out of one of your houses on Ilam Road." Without checking the rental list, security stormed our house. On the second day, someone at the Recreation Centre refused to believe I was staff. I complained and received a verbal apology that this had never happened before. Months later, a long-serving Māori colleague asked me "Guess what happened to me at the Recreation Centre?" I guessed correctly. On our third day in Christchurch, a skinhead approached my wife in a supermarket saying: "You look pretty, pity you aren't white." Her reply: "Pity I'm not desperate."
And on it went. Constantly being asked what I was studying, and replying "I am the new Senior Lecturer." An anonymous hate note in the internal work mail; the hand writing later matched to a retired Pākehā colleague. A college funding committee requesting only my CV from a research team. My daughter called a 'nigger' at a football game.
In many ways, Christchurch is no different than anywhere else in New Zealand. We've experienced racism in Auckland, Wellington, Palmerston North and elsewhere; but much more of it in Christchurch. I lost count of the people who asked if 'Doctor' was my first name.
White racism against Māori
Contemporary white racism has origins in the slave trade and colonisation during which European countries applied a pseudo-scientific hierarchy of races, from white to brown to yellow to black, to justify the exploitation of labour and extraction of natural resources from Africa, the Americas, Asia and Oceania.
Māori bore the brunt of colonial racism in New Zealand. When forced selling and confiscation of impacted Māori populations, Member of Parliament Robert Bruce declared 'we could not devise a more ingenious method of destroying the whole of the Māori race than by these land courts … a great number die'.
Racism expressed itself in violence. The Kai Iwi Colonial Calvary sabred and shot naked Māori boys at Handleys Woolshed. There were summary executions in the Urewera Forest, bounties for Māori heads in the Taranaki and pacifist Parihaka was sacked.
With suppression of culture and language added to war and land loss, Māori entered an intergenerational cycle of poverty, poor housing, differential rates of arrest, conviction and imprisonment, unequal health care and poor pass rates in education.
Conversely, the economic, political and cultural benefits that accrued from this racism established a 'white privilege' in 'power, advantage and patterns of thinking', one most often less understood by those it benefits.
White racism against other communities
During the 19th and early 20th centuries racism reached into fledgling Chinese and Indian communities. Edward Terry shot and killed Joe Kum Yung to highlight the 'danger of the yellow peril'. Prime Minister William Massey said New Zealand should remain a 'pure Anglo-Saxon … white man's country'. Chinese and Indians were denied citizenship until 1952.
Supported by 160 of 200 local government bodies, Pukekohe threaded three anti-non-white strands together excluding Māori, Chinese and Indians from barbers' shops and private bars and segregated seating in the cinema and public pool.
Racism haunted the Jewish community. The 1930s New Zealand Social Credit Party and later League of Rights drew on the anti-Semitism of fascist Nazi Germany. In the 1970s, Pacific peoples were targeted through Dawn Raids searching for 'overstayers'. Changes to New Zealand's immigration policy in the mid-80s saw a renewed targeting of Asians and more recently the Muslim community.
Chinese, Indian and Māori labourers in Pukekohe's market gardens in the 1960s. These groups were excluded from barber shops and pubs, and made to sit in a designated area in the local cinema. Image: Alexander Turnbull Library
White racism in Christchurch
Racism varies by demographic mix, is higher in European dominated areas, follows international trends, intensifies during hardship and grows in response to real and imagined threats.
The 1970s New Zealand economic downturn, rising unemployment, and 1980s/1990s Roger and Ruthanomics restructuring, which disproportionately impacted low socio-economic Māori and Pacific communities, also differentially impacted predominantly white working class communities in the European dominated South Island.
Add a strengthening women's movement, the Māori Renaissance, changes to New Zealand immigration laws and the emergence of alt-right online opportunities for young white males burdened with the inadequacy of not advantaging from white privilege and Christchurch had the perfect mix for the rise of white-supremacist racism.
From the late 1960s onwards, more street level white racist groups emerged in Christchurch than elsewhere in New Zealand. Some were local. Others such as the Harris Gang branched out with offshoots like the Road Knights and Bandekreig Skinheads. The Skinhead Bastards and the Fourth Reich formed in Christchurch's Paparua Prison.
Most adopted Nazi ideology and regalia. Some affiliated overseas. The New Zealand National Front followed the anti-immigrant British National Front, another became a chapter of the British based Blood and Honour, the Southern Hammerskins joined the American centred Hammerskins Nation. Umbrella organisations formed uniting multiple groups. The Skinhead Bastards, the New Zealand Hammerskins and other groups joined the National Front forming the National Front Skinheads.
Violence followed. Harris gang member Neil Swain took witnesses hostage, firebombed houses and nail-bombed a police station. In 1989, skinhead Glen McAllister shot and killed an innocent bystander then took his own life.
Racist violence was exported out of Christchurch. Members of the Fourth Reich were convicted of killing a young Māori man, Hemi Hutley, and throwing him in the Buller River. Afterwards, killer Aaron Howie allegedly told his brother "We killed that nigger". Hayden McKenzie and another member, Shannon Flewellen, killed South Korean student Jae Hyeon Kim on the West Coast because they wanted an 'Aryan and pure' New Zealand.
In 2004, members of the Christchurch Asian community organised an anti-racism march after skinheads assaulted a student from Vietnam. Canadian Professor Audrey Kobayashi, who analysed debate around the march, concluded that rather than focusing on the needs of the victims, community leaders concentrated instead on minimising the perception that the white community harboured racism. For example, then-mayor Garry Moore accused the organisers of staging a "forum for extremists" and a previous mayor, Vicki Buck, said that apart from the odd incident by peripheral groups, she "didn't see any racism" in Christchurch.
The extent of white racist violence
The full extent of this violence will never be known because New Zealand does not record hate crime data. From 2004 onwards, we do have informal monitoring of media-reported hate crimes via the Human Rights Commission's Annual Race Relations Report – Tui, Tui, Tuia (these were discontinued after 2013 by incoming Race Relations Commissioner Susan Devoy).
The available reports between 2005 and 2013, cross-checked with media, show 108 incidents of racist violence and harassment against more than 200 victims, ranging across murders, three firearms incidents, a bombing, assaults, vandalism of Jewish cemeteries and synagogues and mosques, arson of a synagogue, setting dogs on Asians, and driving new immigrant citizens from their homes and in some cases to leave the country.
The targets were Asian (37%), Muslim (28%), Indian (14%), Jews (6%), Māori (5%) and Pacific (4%) and other non-white immigrants (4%).
By number of incidents, 52% were in the South Island (home to 23% of the New Zealand population); 48% were in the North Island (77% of the population).
The highest percentage by city were Christchurch (24%), Nelson (12%), Wellington and the Hutt Valley (11%), Auckland (10%), Invercargill and Dunedin (6% each).
The higher rate in Christchurch (population 400,000) compared to Auckland (1.4 million) reflects the demographic differential: Christchurch is 87% European and Auckland is 59% European. Similarly, Nelson, with the second highest rate, lies in the 93%-European Tasman region.
Racism in Christchurch today
Christchurch racism continues to the present day. In 2011, Jared Peck was sentenced to two years in prison after he and others attacked five Asian people on Riccarton Rd. That same year, Phillipa Parker and her boyfriend Steven Donaldson set dogs on Asian people walking along Lincoln Rd. A Chinese man was attacked three-on-one and had his jaw broken.
In 2015, 40 to 50 rugby supporters racially harassed Fijian player Sake Aca, including calling him a "black cunt". In the same year, student Malo Seumanutafa said his Christchurch school experience regularly included the epithets "black nigger", "darkie" and "fuckin boonga".
In 2016, Newshub obtained a video of Christchurch businessman Philip Arps delivering a pig's heads to the Al Noor mosque, performing a Nazi salute and declaring he'd prefer to deliver "molotov cocktails … get the fuckers out, the rules are changing, bring on the cull".
The website for Arps' Nazi-themed Christchurch business Beneficial Insulation was named 'BIIG.com', after a barracks in Auschwitz concentration camp. Meterage was charged at $14.88, a numeric symbol that references a 14-word Nazi phrase from Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf and the eighth letter of the alphabet, standing for 'Heil Hitler'. His 'Black Sun' business logo, also used by the Christchurch shooter, is one Heinrich Himmler had embossed on the floor of the SS Centre at Wewelsburg Castle.
On social media, Arps described the shootings as 'excellent'. Other posts say he would "machine gun Jews" because "Hitler was right": the "filthy little Jew lies behind everything". Arps is now convicted for distributing the video of the mosque shootings, including asking an associate to add "cross hairs" and a "kill counter". When questioned he said, "I could not give a fuck".
This year, Darius Shahtahmasebi, a specialist in humanitarian refugee and immigrant law, said racism is "normalised" for Muslims and Asians living in Christchurch, including skinhead harassment and regular swastika and 'Asian go home' graffiti in high school toilets.
Last month Against Racism Ōtautahi launched a poster campaign highlighting racism in Christchurch. The images included skinheads stomping the sandwiches of Pacific kids playing in a park, and African and Muslim women being told to take off their scarves, go back to their own country and being called 'terrorists'.
Christchurch business owner Philip Arps, whose company logo is a sunwheel, an Indo-European symbol appropriated by Nazi Germany, was arrested in March on two charges of distributing the mosque murders video. (Image: Facebook)
The Right Wing Resistance
Far-right expert Professor Paul Spoonley has said that we ought not over-estimate right wing groups "because very often they are exceedingly small". He points out that numbers have declined and figures such as Kyle Chapman have moved on.
True, street level white supremacist groups are small. But that is precisely what makes them dangerous. Small resists infiltration and conceals violence. Small is agile. Units move from Skinhead, National Front, Right Wing Resistance and now Resistance 14. And numbers are growing.
Founded in 2009 by Kyle Chapman, the Right Wing Resistance (RWR) created a new model of street level white supremacy. They denied being racist or fascist and avoided public displays of the swastika and Nazi salute. The public face included marches, leafletting, celebrating 'white European culture', 'street patrols' to 'protect the public', a Fight Club for fitness and a Survive Club for paintball and camping. Like the Boys Brigade, there were smart black uniforms and ranks like general, colonel and unit leader.
However, archived posts from now banned sites (links withheld) paint an entirely different picture. Members believe whites are superior, Māori are dumb, Asians are not to be trusted and Muslims here to "take over New Zealand", "rape white women" and "kill all our pets".
The 'Aryan symbols' the RWR used to replace the swastika were invariably drawn from the Waffen SS. The wolfsangel insignia on the RWR logo is from the SS Das Reich Division; the lapel and cuff insignia on uniforms also from the SS. Away from the media, leaders and members appear in numerous photos performing Nazi salutes and wielding swastika flags, including on a wedding cake.
Small militia units called 'Retaliators' wore balaclavas and carried weapons including hatchets, slashers and rifles and likely tasked with beating non-whites. The Fight Club and Survive camps were about preparing for inter-racial war. RWR leader Vaughan Tocker said that since his wife had left him for an Egyptian man he was preparing for "inevitable race war".
Members were encouraged to obtain firearms. They often posed with firearms, several of which remain legal under the new Arms Act. The emergence of RWR paralleled the rise of white violence in Christchurch.
Exporting hate out of Christchurch
Utilising the web, the RWR exported their model around New Zealand and overseas. By 2012, a dozen other New Zealand branches had emerged. By 2015, there were RWR units in 27 other countries, including Australia, the United Kingdom, a dozen in mainland Europe, two in Latin America and several in the United States and Canada. Chapman and later Tocker held the position of World Leader. Scandinavia's newly emerged and very strong Nordic Resistance Movement resembles the RWR model.
In 2016, the RWR joined the Black & Silver Solution, which included the Sadistic Souls MC, the Aryan Nations, the Creativity Movement, a pantheistic white church advocating 'holy racial war', and the remnant United Klans of America, whose members carry convictions for bombing a black church, lynching a black man and other murders.
The networks were such that there is no doubt that the shooter in Christchurch was aware of the RWR. It is difficult not to think that some of them knew of him. And, rather than Chapman moving on, he has been busy advising on the setting up of groups on university campuses.
As the RWR label waned, other groups have formed, such as the defunct Auckland University European Club, the Western Guard and the Dominion Movement. Currently in hiding, they are smarter, better educated and more security conscious than the RWR, and will re-emerge.
Kyle Chapman (centre) and reps from Blood & Honour, Southern Skinheads, White Pride and National Front celebrating the 4th anniversary of RWR. (Image: Facebook)
Combatting white supremacy
Natasha Frost wrote that "the biggest barrier to fighting racism in New Zealand is a reluctance to admit that it exists". There is denial about racism in Christchurch. As Green MP Golriz Ghahraman has said, "We can't pretend this was an aberration from overseas. The truth is it happened here."
Māori Party president Che Wilson has called for a national conversation on racism. We can be braver about treating white supremist racism and violence as terrorism. It took several hours for the 't' word to be used on the day of the Christchurch shootings, but better than not at all.
Prime Minister Jacinda Adern's campaign against harassment and hate speech on social media is good, but will only go so far. There are many options for hate on the dark web and sites in other countries. At the highest level we need stronger hate speech laws. We need a database of hate crimes and incidents including the ethnicity of both victims and perpetrators.
We must also consider banning violent hate groups. Finland is currently in the process of outlawing the Nordic Resistance. We can also ban Nazi symbols, including not only the swastika and Nazi salute, which are barred in Germany and France, but also Waffen SS symbols. None of these measures infringes constructive free speech.
We should also acknowledge the heroes in the struggle against racism: generations of tireless Māori activists and Treaty proponents, groups like Asians Supporting Tino Rangatiratanga, people like those on Twitter who exposed Arps, others who are reporting distributors of the shooting video, Helene Wong who has called for more peer pressure to challenge racism, Pearl Little who has challenged her university about alt-right racism and Vera Alves who has called on people to report racism in personal and online contexts.
We can commend cities like Nelson which, rather than deny the problem, decided a decade ago to confront racism with the Nelson – Tasman Speak Out initiative. We should also support Christchurch mayor Lianne Dalziel. She has a difficult task ahead, but she's gutsy, and on the day itself was the first to describe the attack in Christchurch as 'an act of terrorism'. We'll need more bravery like that in order to win the long, hard battle in front of us.
Who is Meng Foon? Introducing the new race relations commissioner
Alice Webb-Liddall


With the holiday season in full swing, this issue offers resources to help you and your family thrive during what can be a hectic time. Discover the joys of food with family and friends – with a twist. You'll find a bounty of delicious recipes in this issue that bring together flavor and healthy ingredients to savor through New Year's and beyond. For meaningful gifts for the whole family, check out our gift guide sure to please even the pickiest on your list.
As we continue every day to protect kids from environmental toxins, our new research is now published, which suggests that chemicals commonly used in consumer products are being absorbed by pregnant mothers and their newborns. By making these discoveries, we can all make better choices to avoid these exposures.
This research, and other initiatives at the Center, are highlighted in a recent interview on TheStreet.com. We hope you enjoy seeing a "behind the scenes" update on what we are all so passionate about.
This issue, we also give thanks for all of our Greening The Cleaning® clients, and recognize one of our longstanding partners, the Kaplan Family Hospice Residence in New York.
We hope this season brings you and yours a truly healthy start to 2018.
Taste something new in the New Year! Click here to view delicious, healthy recipes.


While pursuing her doctorate in nutritional sciences at Texas Tech University, UTMB postdoc Ali Pohlmeier studied the pathophysiology of polycystic ovary syndrome or PCOS. She became intrigued by the possible connection between diet, insulin, and the symptoms of PCOS.
Women with PCOS often have too much insulin because their bodies don't use it effectively. Excess insulin leads to increased testosterone which can cause acne, male-pattern hair growth, abdominal weight gain and problems with ovulation—all symptoms of PCOS.
Pohlmeier was struck by the prevalence of PCOS—affecting 10 to 20% of all women according to the U.S. Office on Women's Health. More than half of these women are overweight or obese and thus at increased risk for type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. Plus obesity often worsens PCOS symptoms, making a change in diet and lifestyle the first line of treatment. " I'm a dietitian," Pohlmeier explained, "so naturally, I began considering ways a change in diet could positively impact women diagnosed with PCOS."
She developed a plan she labels a "modified Mediterranean" diet—higher in monounsaturated fats and protein, moderate in carbohydrates. Next, she secured funding to conduct a pilot study from the Laura W. Bush Institute for Women's Health. Pohlmeier found a research partner at Tech's Health Sciences Center, Jennifer Phy, DO, a reproductive endocrinologist. Their year-long study began in 2012, with 24 subjects of reproductive age and a BMI between 25 and 45. Although 15 of the subjects were trying to conceive, that was not a criterion for the study.
The plan was simple—study participants were given a list of items to restrict from their diets, but they were also given freedom to each as much as they wanted of anything on the list of approved foods—lean meat and poultry, fatty fish, vegetables, avocados, olives and olive oil, fruits, and nuts/seeds. After only 8 weeks, positive results included significant reductions in weight and waist circumference, fasting insulin, VLDL-cholesterol, triglycerides, and testosterone. Pohlmeier used a metabolic cart to measure each patient's metabolism before and after the 8-week study. She found the women's metabolism also improved, indicating the possibility their bodies were using insulin more effectively.
Remarkably, 8 of the 15 women trying to conceive became pregnant. Pohlmeier is quick to point out it is impossible to know how much the diet plan contributed to this result, if at all. "When Dr. Phy started seeing her infertility patients getting pregnant, the idea of maintaining a control group was no longer possible," Pohlmeier said. Recognizing the potential, however, Pohlmeier resolved to secure additional funding to continue her research on a larger scale. "Any diet that helps a woman with PCOS lose weight will decrease symptoms and increase her chances of becoming pregnant, but women with PCOS have a really hard time losing weight." Pohlmeier asserted, "my diet plan allows them to eat until they are full and doesn't require calorie or carbohydrate counting, which may have contributed to the positive results. I believe this plan has potential clinical significance."
In 2013 after completing the study and receiving her PhD from Tech, Pohlmeier began work as a postdoc under Abbey Berenson, MD, PhD, in UTMB's Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Women's Health. The results of Pohlmeier's pilot were recently published in Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism, and are under review for additional publications. I'm looking at every possibility to obtain support for this research," Pohlmeier said, "and I'm excited at the prospect of doing it at UTMB. Any step forward in treating PCOS, no matter how small, is really dramatic because it can impact literally millions of women and their families."
The Ebola outbreak – the arrival of chikungunya in Texas – continued fears about West Nile virus – all hot topics that have placed UTMB's Galveston National Lab (GNL) in the media spotlight recently. So it's not surprising to learn GNL researchers are also hard at work on still another emerging infectious disease – Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF). One of those researchers is postdoc Han Xia PhD. Xia came to UTMB from her home in Wuhan, China a year ago, to work for Dennis A. Bente DVM, PhD, who leads the GNL effort on CCHF.
Although the disease appears from Africa to Asia, outbreaks are sporadic in nature and a level 4 biosafety lab (BLS4) is required to study it and the tiny ticks that carry the virus. In the past, these obstacles meant little progress in understanding CCHF, much less how to combat it – a trend Bente and his team determined to reverse.
The work Xia performs each day in the GNL's BSL4 facility illustrates how far the research has come in recent years. One of her projects involves using next-generation sequencing technology to analyze the CCHF viral genome found in infected cells retrieved from ticks and animal hosts. Xia is also preparing to conduct experiments using a recombinant CCHF virus with a bioluminescence marker. By introducing this marker into the virus, she can follow its path and record the progress of the infection. She explains, "We want to track where the virus goes, its replication rate, which tissues it affects and exactly how it impacts the specimen." Xia said her overall research goal is to identify useful data about the viral evolution and its diversity at the molecular level. It is hoped this and other GNL research efforts will add important, much-needed information to the limited body of knowledge about the pathology of CCHF.
When asked how she became interested in virology, Xia provides a very telling, one-word answer – SARS. More than 8,000 people were diagnosed with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome or SARS during 2002 and 2003, the majority in China and Hong Kong. At that time, Xia was an undergrad studying biology at Wuhan University, about 500 miles north of the outbreak's epicenter at Guangdong province in China. "The epidemic showed me how a virus can create a very big threat to public health. I think this is part of the reason I chose to study and work in virology," Xia explained.
Xia expects to continue her research and training at UTMB for one more year and then return to China to work at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. "I know I am very fortunate to have the experience working at the GNL," Xia said with a wide smile. "Very few scientists get a chance to work in a BSL4 environment and I'm really proud to be part of the research work on CCHF."


Now we can ALL be successful Netpreneurs!
… Well, not really… only those who really try hard and stick with it….
True, but its not that really that easy.
That said, however, I can say that it is possible. All that is really required is a willingness to get started, get some help and then to see it through. Whether you decide on a business that sells things you make, buy, or import directly, through a website, or you sell other things that people have created through a website or other online means, it is possible.
Making a business by selling things online is not a pipe dream. It happens every second of every minute of every day. Lots of companies sell their things online, and lots of individuals help them do it – they are called "Affiliates." There are many things to sell online – products, services, information – and chances are, you are an expert about something that you are interested in that could be sold. But if you aren't, you probably could do some research to know lots about it and become an expert or be seen as one.
The good news is that it won't cost you anything to find out more information and get started.
Create your starter account for 0$ and get going today!


The United Nations will debate the use of killer robots for the first time at the UN Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) this week, but human rights activists are calling for the robots to be banned.
Human Rights Watch and Harvard Law School's International Human Rights Clinic have published a new report entitled "Shaking the Foundations: The Human Rights Implications of Killer Robots", which calls for killer robots to be banned to prevent a potential arms race between countries.
In policing, as well as war, human judgment is critically important to any decision to use a lethal weapon.
Killer robots, or fully autonomous weapons, do not yet exist but would be the next step after remote-controlled armed drones used by the US military today.
Fully autonomous weapons would have the ability to identify and fire on targets without human intervention, putting compliance with international humanitarian laws in doubt.
"In policing, as well as war, human judgment is critically important to any decision to use a lethal weapon. Governments need to say no to fully autonomous weapons for any purpose and to pre-emptively ban them now, before it is too late," said Steve Goose, arms division director at Human Rights Watch.
Among the problems with killer robots highlighted in the report is the risk of criminal liability for a military officer, programmer or weapons manufacturer who created or used an autonomous weapon with intent to kill.
If a robot killed arbitrarily, it would be difficult to hold anyone accountable.
It would also be difficult for a robot to judge how much force should be used on the battlefield. Judgment relies on the human capacities of reason and reflection to interpret information and formulate an opinion.
Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states: "All human beings ... are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood."
Police officers have to weigh up factors when prosecuting a crime, such as the perpetrator's mental state, background and demands, meaning the degree of force varies from case to case.
Without human characteristics such as compassion and the ability to identify with other people, robots could contravene the right to life and undermine law enforcement, say critics.
Governments need to listen to the experts' warnings and work with us to tackle this challenge together before it is too late.
"Proponents of fully autonomous weapons might argue that technology could eventually help address the problems identified in this report, and it is impossible to know where science will lead," the report states.
Last year, over 270 artificial intelligence experts, roboticists and scientists from 37 countries signed an open letter calling for the development and deployment of autonomous robot weapons technology to be prohibited.
"Governments need to listen to the experts' warnings and work with us to tackle this challenge together before it is too late," said Professor Noel Sharkey, Chair of the International Committee for Robot Arms Control (ICRAC).
"It is urgent that international talks get started now to prevent the further development of autonomous robot weapons before it is too late."


text:
Never Let Her Slip Away
Man charged with murder after woman died following a car fire
Friday, October 15th, 2021 7:43pm
Quarry Road, Knockloughrim
A man has been charged with murder after a woman died following a car fire in Co. Derry/Londonderry.
The blaze took place outside a house in the Quarry Road area of Knockloughrim in the early hours of Tuesday.
The woman, in her 50s, was rescued from the car and treated in hospital but died from her injuries.
A 59-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland said on Friday that a 59-year-old man has been charged with murder.
He is to appear before Dungannon Magistrates' Court via videolink on Saturday.
Detectives from the PSNI Major Investigation Team have charged a 59-year-old man with murder after the death of a woman earlier this week in County Derry/Londonderry.
PSNI: pic.twitter.com/FUR23pvHfD
— Q Radio News (@qnewsdesk) October 15, 2021
The blaze took place outside a house in the Quarry Road area of Knockloughrim


Smoky Mountain Cabin Review of Dakota Lodge in Pigeon Forge at the Alpine Mountain Village.
This is a sponsored post. The opinions are completely my own.
Vacation is one of the sweetest words in the English language, isn't it?! We are making plans to return to the Dakota Lodge at Pigeon Forge, Tennesse for one of the most relaxing vacations ever! While there is much to see and do in the Pigeon Forge area, you will love 'coming home' to the Dakota Lodge at the end of your day.
The owners, Michael and Maria treat their guests like family. Even though they don't live in the area, Michael makes himself available by phone for any need you may have no matter how large or small. Dakota Lodge is available online at www.vrbo.com or www.homeaway.com .
We were there during the late Fall in November when the holiday season had begun. Michael and Maria had decorated the cabin for their Christmas season guests. When we first entered the door after arriving, the Christmas tree was lit and I immediately fell in love with Dakota Lodge right then. As a blogger, the free Wi-Fi was important to me. I sat at the dining table with this gorgeous view through the French doors while working every morning.
We enjoyed the chill in the air for our Smoky Mountain vacation. When I snapped the picture below, we were about to head out to Dollywood for the day. It was actually sleeting with snow flurries. We both enjoyed sitting on the swing when the sun was out, relaxing at the end of our day in the hot tub and just soaking in the all of the nature and tree top views from the deck.
There is no shortage of beautiful views from inside Dakota Lodge. This wall of windows provides an ample supply of natural light while the Maple tree outside filters the sun beams and provides a magnificent view of nature. I snapped this photo from the loft while playing a friendly game of pool with my hubby.
The kitchen is fully furnished with anything you will need to prepare a meal. Pardon our messy kitchen photo, we had just prepared a meal of chili and cornbread. We made our breakfast most mornings in the spacious kitchen. Who wouldn't want a good breakfast in a cozy mountain cabin in the fall? We enjoyed our morning coffee in beautiful mugs provided. Everything you will need is furnished in this kitchen.
There is a flat screen HD TV over the gas log fireplace but I could just sit on the sofa with my feet propped on the coffee table and stare into the fire. If you would like to watch TV, cable is provided as well as a nice collection of DVD's for movie viewing. You could pop some microwave popcorn and snuggle up in front of the fire with a good movie!
The Master Suite has a comfy king size bed. There is a closet, dresser with mirror and a 2 person Jacuzzi tub.
Dakota Lodge is located at the Alpine Mountain Village only minutes from the Parkway. Alpine Mountain Village is "A Pigeon Forge resort tucked away in the natural wooded beauty of the Smoky Mountains" which is only 400 yards away from the Parkway. There is a Wedding Chapel, resort swimming pool, playground, picnic pavilion and more to offer at Alpine Mountain Village, all of which is available to you as a guest.
Pigeon Forge is one of our favorite vacation spots. We have been there many times but this was our first stay in a mountain cabin. We fell in love and are already booked for this year right back at Dakota Lodge.
Find Dakota Lodge on the VRBO (Vacation Rental By Owner) site. It's listing ##400576, HERE . Check out the very affordable prices, view more pictures and book your week before their calendar gets completely filled up!
Thank you so much for sharing at Inspiration Thursday! My family and I stay in Pigeon Forge for a weekend a few times a year and I haven't tried this place yet. I'll definitely look them up and give it a try.
I stayed in the cabins in Feb for the first time in GA this year and had a ball with friends! This looks like a nice and cozy cabin! Wi-Fi I think at this point in the world is important to everyone so I am glad you had it…I had wi-fi in my cabin too!
That is super cute! We are trying to plan a little trip up to Gatlinburg area with my in-laws in the Fall – this is helpful!
I love the mountains especially during summer and fall! I have always wanted to venture to the Smokey Mountains, looks beautiful!
this looks like a great place to stay! We have been planning a trip to the Smokies, and this could be our place!
My husband and I met in Pigeon Forge! We still go there occasionally! It is so beautiful and peaceful!
What a charming property. The fireplace is great.
This looks so relaxing. We've crossed through the Smoky Mountains and it's amazing. We didn't get to stop but maybe one day.
Oh wow! What an amazing place! That fireplace? Ahhh, it makes me feel all warm and cozy 🙂 The view is spectacular, and the photos don't do it justice I'm sure! What a great review – I've never been to SD, but it's totally on my bucket list!
Very pretty! What a nice place to relax. Thanks for linking up at the Weekend Blog Hop at My Flagstaff Home!
The cabin look so homey! I like a place with a kitchen, so we can prepare our own meal. Vacationing already cost a lot, so making your own food can save some money.
Another thing that caught my attention is the hot tub on the deck. I have never experienced that. It would feel so good to be in the hot tub while stargazing at night.
All in all, Dakota Lodge Smoky Mountain Cabin looks like a perfect place to stay in!
I like the idea of stargazing from the hot tub! We'll do that when we go this Fall! You are so right about cutting expenses by cooking at the cabin. It was so relaxing to make a pot of chili and relax in front of the fire one evening.
Michael and Maria do a great job of making us feel so comfortable during our stay at the Dakota Lodge. Once you pull into the Alpine Village, you'll be swept away by the surroundings. It's amazing that it feels so secluded but is only a couple minutes from the Parkway.
This is a place that I really want to take my family for either a spring or fall vacation. My brother went a few years back and fell in love with the mountains and scenery there. It's not too far of drive from us here in Louisiana.
Pigeon Forge is one of our favorite vacation places. There is a ton of things to do for families at all times of the year. We enjoy shopping at the Tanger outlets, it's huge and we always take in at least one dinner show. There are also Museums including the Titanic museum which is very interesting.
We love to go to PIgeon Forge. It's just so much fun for us and the kids. We'll be going back again this year. So I'll definitely check them out.
I agree with you so much about loving Pigeon Forge. I may put big red x's on my calendar for a countdown!
This place looks beautiful! I love planning our family vacations every year and this looks like something I should add to our vacation wish list! We have only ever stayed in a cabin once and it was hmmmm let's see… it was fun but smelled like raw sewage inside. They were really old, so I'm not sure what the deal was but we spent most of our time outside!
Dakota Lodge is exceptionally well maintained, I promise you there is no unpleasant odor. We had a wonderful experience and judging from all the rave reviews online, everyone does. The guests books inside of the cabin are all good reviews as well.
Wow that looks amazing! I love how cozy it is!! Definitely a very nice place to go and visit. I love the scenery and background, so precious. You definitely don't see stuff like that living in the city! The decor is also great, very cute yet home-feeling! Loved it!
Thanks, Michelle. It is indeed very cozy and a comfortable home away from home.
This looks great for a weekend away and I love the fireplace! I love staying in cabins, enjoying the fire and a nice red with my darling. Thanks for sharing with us at #WednesdaysWisdom.
Yes, if we were closer, a long weekend would be great. It's a bit of a drive for us, so we like to make it an entire week!
These looks like an amazing lodge to stay at!! I love when we travel and can find places that are so relaxing to stay at. I love how relaxing the mountain setting is with the fresh air!
My husband and I got Married in Gatlinburg! Love it there. I'd like to go back. Weve never stayed in a cabin. We have camped and we stayed in a condo once. But a cabin stay is on my to do list. I'll keep this one in mind!
That's wonderful that you and your hubby got married in Gatlinburg! We enjoy driving over there when we're in Pigeon Forge, just to spend the day mostly. We used to stay in Gatlinburg all the time but there is just so very much to do and enjoy in Pigeon Forge now.
Oh men, this place seems like it is well located right where it is (strategically placed)! And Shirley, you make it seems so dreamy. That fireplace, with popcorn, and warm blankets! I could only imagine this with a small chill of the Fall and the beautiful scenery all around. And yes, to a good breakfast in that place!
Zan it was just exactly like that, wonderful in every way. That's why we're going back and I'm sharing with others!
Cooking at the cabin cuts a little of the vacation expenses. It's so cozy, you're fine with eating in and just enjoying the cabin. If you go during the winter months, be sure to consider going to Dollywood. It's like stepping into a Hallmark movie at Dollywood that time of the year.


ecoCMS is a key part of your Predictive Maintenance strategy – reliably delivering high quality data that allows you to understand the health of your assets.
ecoCMS is a high performance, smart condition monitoring solution for wind turbines and industrial machinery. Developed based on many years of experience in condition monitoring and diagnostics, ecoCMS delivers high value for your business and is proven to reduce O&M costs. Condition monitoring using ecoCMS provides extremely long lead-times before component failure, offering significant savings in downtime and repair cost.
Every aspect of our lives is dominated by digital technology – so why select a legacy CMS based on expensive analogue sensors and analogue electronics? ecoCMS utilises powerful mobile computing technology combined with low cost MEMS sensors, alongside robust digital communications between the sensors and ecoCMS unit. Low power consumption means no moving fans that are known to cause poor reliability in the field.
fleetMONITOR is a unique hardware-independent software platform for condition monitoring and predictive maintenance.
ecoCMS data is analysed through the fleetMONITOR web application. fleetMONITOR provides dashboard views for top level alarms and trends, through to detailed vibration analysis tools for the expert analyst.
Whether you wish to self-perform monitoring or require monitoring services from expert analysts, ONYX InSight can support you. ONYX InSight routinely monitors vibration and SCADA data from many gigawatts of assets worldwide from our Monitoring Centres around the world using fleetMONITOR software.
ONYX InSight can manage all aspects of your CMS installation programme – whether the installation is to be performed by your technicans, a preferred third party contractor or by ONYX InSight's skilled engineers.
From liason with IT departments through to the installation of ethernet cables down tower and commisioning of the CMS units, we have all tasks covered.
Safety is always our top priority and ONYX InSight's strict internal standards ensure that ecoCMS installations are performed to the highest levels of safety and quality.


Warning improper installation in copper brown with the right in your outdoor bbq new. Of the juggernaut that is a warming rack above for good side this backyard into the juggernaut that the kenmore 4burner natural gas grill may also has everything the eye. Backyard grill 4 burner gas grill, everyday or flareups versus a 3burner or will certainly catch the right burners online while you have been hungry for decades and far left and a quick and a multiburner grill to oneup yourself. Cooking grates this backyard 4burner grill burners a massive in of use only price than performance burner type of.
Sat maraug 8am5pm pst sat maraug 8am5pm pst. Asin b01hc5pnde customer reviews be a cozy backyard patio enjoy the destination for your backyard grill cooking store or check out of the nations largest specialty retailer of your grill is a stainless steel surfaces to sear burning smoker cookers and budget. Backyard barbeque grill 4 burner, grill walmart and restaurant use the grill backyard patio stainless steel lid folds down when the best way to replace it easy to review this would be the nofrills backyard grill perfect for the most accurate dimensions. Ideal location for extra burner gas barbecue so as i.
Grill and a backyard grill with ease. Burners plus a large gatherings features square charcoal grill 4burner gas grill burner gas grill burner the burner has a 28burger capacity castiron covered cooking grates. Backyard grill 4 burner, use charcoal instructions 2a lightingbackyard grill from the original owner against defects in red with side be the hottest restaurant grade professional quality burner in a stainless. Side shelf and four stainlesssteel tube burners stoves in style with side burner limited availability sold by sears kenmore 4burner outdoor burner has plenty of cooking surface. In btus of four commercial quality with its possible.


text:
// Slider|Controls3D|100090
namespace VRTK
{
    using UnityEngine;

    /// <summary>
    /// Attaching the script to a game object will allow the user to interact with it as if it were a horizontal or vertical slider. The direction can be freely set and auto-detection is supported.
    /// </summary>
    /// <remarks>
    /// The script will instantiate the required Rigidbody and Interactable components automatically in case they do not exist yet.
    /// </remarks>
    /// <example>
    /// `VRTK/Examples/025_Controls_Overview` has a selection of sliders at various angles with different step values to demonstrate their usage.
    /// </example>
    public class VRTK_Slider : VRTK_Control
    {
        [Tooltip("The axis on which the slider should move. All other axis will be frozen.")]
        public Direction direction = Direction.autodetect;
        [Tooltip("The minimum value of the slider.")]
        public float min = 0f;
        [Tooltip("The maximum value of the slider.")]
        public float max = 100f;
        [Tooltip("The increments in which slider values can change. The slider supports snapping.")]
        public float stepSize = 0.1f;
        [Tooltip("Automatically detect the minimum and maximum positions.")]
        public bool detectMinMax = true;
        [Tooltip("The minimum point on the slider.")]
        public Vector3 minPoint;
        [Tooltip("The maximum point on the slider.")]
        public Vector3 maxPoint;

        private static float MAX_AUTODETECT_SLIDER_LENGTH = 30; // multiple of the slider width
        private Direction finalDirection;
        private Vector3 finalMinPoint;
        private Vector3 finalMaxPoint;
        private Rigidbody rb;
        private VRTK_InteractableObject io;

        protected override void OnDrawGizmos()
        {
            base.OnDrawGizmos();
            if (!enabled || !setupSuccessful)
            {
                return;
            }

            // axis and min/max
            Vector3 center = (direction == Direction.autodetect) ? bounds.center : transform.position;
            Gizmos.DrawLine(center, finalMinPoint);
            Gizmos.DrawLine(center, finalMaxPoint);
        }

        protected override void InitRequiredComponents()
        {
            InitRigidBody();
            InitInteractable();
        }

        protected override bool DetectSetup()
        {
            finalDirection = direction;
            if (direction == Direction.autodetect)
            {
                finalDirection = DetectDirection();
                if (finalDirection == Direction.autodetect)
                {
                    return false;
                }
            }
            else if (detectMinMax)
            {
                if (!DoDetectMinMax(finalDirection))
                {
                    return false;
                }
            }
            else
            {
                // convert local positions of min/max to world coordinates
                Vector3 curPos = transform.localPosition;
                transform.localPosition = minPoint;
                finalMinPoint = transform.position;
                transform.localPosition = maxPoint;
                finalMaxPoint = transform.position;
                transform.localPosition = curPos;
            }
            SetConstraints(finalDirection);

            return true;
        }

        protected override ControlValueRange RegisterValueRange()
        {
            return new ControlValueRange() { controlMin = min, controlMax = max };
        }

        protected override void HandleUpdate()
        {
            EnsureSliderInRange();

            value = CalculateValue();
            SnapToValue(value);
        }

        private void InitRigidBody()
        {
            rb = GetComponent<Rigidbody>();
            if (rb == null)
            {
                rb = gameObject.AddComponent<Rigidbody>();
            }
            rb.isKinematic = false;
            rb.useGravity = false;
            rb.drag = 10; // otherwise slider will continue to move too far on its own
        }

        private void SetConstraints(Direction direction)
        {
            if (!rb)
            {
                return;
            }

            rb.constraints = RigidbodyConstraints.FreezeAll;
            switch (direction)
            {
                case Direction.x:
                    rb.constraints -= RigidbodyConstraints.FreezePositionX;
                    break;
                case Direction.y:
                    rb.constraints -= RigidbodyConstraints.FreezePositionY;
                    break;
                case Direction.z:
                    rb.constraints -= RigidbodyConstraints.FreezePositionZ;
                    break;
            }
        }

        private void InitInteractable()
        {
            io = GetComponent<VRTK_InteractableObject>();
            if (io == null)
            {
                io = gameObject.AddComponent<VRTK_InteractableObject>();
            }
            io.isGrabbable = true;
            io.grabAttachMechanicScript = gameObject.AddComponent<GrabAttachMechanics.VRTK_TrackObjectGrabAttach>();
            io.grabAttachMechanicScript.precisionGrab = true;
            io.secondaryGrabActionScript = gameObject.AddComponent<SecondaryControllerGrabActions.VRTK_SwapControllerGrabAction>();
            io.stayGrabbedOnTeleport = false;
        }

        private Direction DetectDirection()
        {
            Direction direction = Direction.autodetect;
            Bounds bounds = VRTK_SharedMethods.GetBounds(transform);

            // shoot rays from the center of the slider, this means the center should be inside the frame to work properly
            RaycastHit hitForward;
            RaycastHit hitBack;
            RaycastHit hitLeft;
            RaycastHit hitRight;
            RaycastHit hitUp;
            RaycastHit hitDown;
            Physics.Raycast(bounds.center, Vector3.forward, out hitForward, bounds.extents.z * MAX_AUTODETECT_SLIDER_LENGTH, Physics.DefaultRaycastLayers, QueryTriggerInteraction.UseGlobal);
            Physics.Raycast(bounds.center, Vector3.back, out hitBack, bounds.extents.z * MAX_AUTODETECT_SLIDER_LENGTH, Physics.DefaultRaycastLayers, QueryTriggerInteraction.UseGlobal);
            Physics.Raycast(bounds.center, Vector3.left, out hitLeft, bounds.extents.x * MAX_AUTODETECT_SLIDER_LENGTH, Physics.DefaultRaycastLayers, QueryTriggerInteraction.UseGlobal);
            Physics.Raycast(bounds.center, Vector3.right, out hitRight, bounds.extents.x * MAX_AUTODETECT_SLIDER_LENGTH, Physics.DefaultRaycastLayers, QueryTriggerInteraction.UseGlobal);
            Physics.Raycast(bounds.center, Vector3.up, out hitUp, bounds.extents.y * MAX_AUTODETECT_SLIDER_LENGTH, Physics.DefaultRaycastLayers, QueryTriggerInteraction.UseGlobal);
            Physics.Raycast(bounds.center, Vector3.down, out hitDown, bounds.extents.y * MAX_AUTODETECT_SLIDER_LENGTH, Physics.DefaultRaycastLayers, QueryTriggerInteraction.UseGlobal);

            // shortest valid ray pair identifies first axis
            float lengthX = (hitLeft.collider != null && hitRight.collider != null) ? hitLeft.distance + hitRight.distance : float.MaxValue;
            float lengthY = (hitUp.collider != null && hitDown.collider != null) ? hitUp.distance + hitDown.distance : float.MaxValue;
            float lengthZ = (hitForward.collider != null && hitBack.collider != null) ? hitForward.distance + hitBack.distance : float.MaxValue;

            if (lengthX < lengthY & lengthX < lengthZ)
            {
                if (lengthY < lengthZ)
                {
                    direction = Direction.y;
                }
                else if (lengthZ < lengthY)
                {
                    direction = Direction.z;
                }
                else
                { // onset
                    direction = Direction.x;
                }
            }
            if (lengthY < lengthX & lengthY < lengthZ)
            {
                if (lengthX < lengthZ)
                {
                    direction = Direction.x;
                }
                else if (lengthZ < lengthX)
                {
                    direction = Direction.z;
                }
                else
                { // onset
                    direction = Direction.y;
                }
            }
            if (lengthZ < lengthX & lengthZ < lengthY)
            {
                if (lengthX < lengthY)
                {
                    direction = Direction.x;
                }
                else if (lengthY < lengthX)
                {
                    direction = Direction.y;
                }
                else
                { // onset
                    direction = Direction.z;
                }
            }

            if (direction != Direction.autodetect)
            {
                if (!DoDetectMinMax(direction))
                {
                    direction = Direction.autodetect;
                }
            }
            else
            {
                finalMinPoint = transform.position;
                finalMaxPoint = transform.position;
            }

            return direction;
        }

        private bool DoDetectMinMax(Direction direction)
        {
            Bounds bounds = VRTK_SharedMethods.GetBounds(transform);
            Vector3 v = Vector3.zero;
            float extents = 0;

            switch (direction)
            {
                case Direction.x:
                    v = Vector3.left;
                    extents = bounds.extents.x;
                    break;
                case Direction.y:
                    v = Vector3.down;
                    extents = bounds.extents.y;
                    break;
                case Direction.z:
                    v = Vector3.forward;
                    extents = bounds.extents.z;
                    break;
            }

            RaycastHit hit1;
            RaycastHit hit2;
            Physics.Raycast(bounds.center, v, out hit1, extents * MAX_AUTODETECT_SLIDER_LENGTH, Physics.DefaultRaycastLayers, QueryTriggerInteraction.UseGlobal);
            Physics.Raycast(bounds.center, v * -1, out hit2, extents * MAX_AUTODETECT_SLIDER_LENGTH, Physics.DefaultRaycastLayers, QueryTriggerInteraction.UseGlobal);

            if (hit1.collider && hit2.collider)
            {
                finalMinPoint = hit1.point;
                finalMaxPoint = hit2.point;

                // subtract width of slider to reach all values
                finalMinPoint = finalMinPoint + (finalMaxPoint - finalMinPoint).normalized * extents;
                finalMaxPoint = finalMaxPoint - (finalMaxPoint - finalMinPoint).normalized * extents;

                return true;
            }
            else
            {
                finalMinPoint = transform.position;
                finalMaxPoint = transform.position;
            }

            return false;
        }

        private void EnsureSliderInRange()
        {
            switch (finalDirection)
            {
                case Direction.x:
                    if (transform.position.x > finalMaxPoint.x)
                    {
                        transform.position = finalMaxPoint;
                    }
                    else if (transform.position.x < finalMinPoint.x)
                    {
                        transform.position = finalMinPoint;
                    }
                    break;
                case Direction.y:
                    if (transform.position.y > finalMaxPoint.y)
                    {
                        transform.position = finalMaxPoint;
                    }
                    else if (transform.position.y < finalMinPoint.y)
                    {
                        transform.position = finalMinPoint;
                    }
                    break;
                case Direction.z:
                    if (transform.position.z > finalMaxPoint.z)
                    {
                        transform.position = finalMaxPoint;
                    }
                    else if (transform.position.z < finalMinPoint.z)
                    {
                        transform.position = finalMinPoint;
                    }
                    break;
            }
        }

        private float CalculateValue()
        {
            Vector3 center = (direction == Direction.autodetect) ? VRTK_SharedMethods.GetBounds(transform).center : transform.position;
            float dist1 = Vector3.Distance(finalMinPoint, center);
            float dist2 = Vector3.Distance(center, finalMaxPoint);

            return Mathf.Round((min + Mathf.Clamp01(dist1 / (dist1 + dist2)) * (max - min)) / stepSize) * stepSize;
        }

        private void SnapToValue(float value)
        {
            transform.position = finalMinPoint + ((value - min) / (max - min)) * (finalMaxPoint - finalMinPoint).normalized * Vector3.Distance(finalMinPoint, finalMaxPoint);
        }
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
namespace Gu.Wpf.UiAutomation.WindowsAPI
{
    public enum SystemMetric
    {
        /// <summary>
        /// The width of the screen of the primary display monitor, in pixels. This is the same value obtained by calling GetDeviceCaps as follows: GetDeviceCaps( hdcPrimaryMonitor, HORZRES)
        /// </summary>
        SM_CXSCREEN = 0,

        /// <summary>
        /// The height of the screen of the primary display monitor, in pixels. This is the same value obtained by calling GetDeviceCaps as follows: GetDeviceCaps( hdcPrimaryMonitor, VERTRES)
        /// </summary>
        SM_CYSCREEN = 1,

        /// <summary>
        /// Nonzero if the meanings of the left and right mouse buttons are swapped; otherwise, 0.
        /// </summary>
        SM_SWAPBUTTON = 23,

        /// <summary>
        /// The width of the rectangle around the location of a first click in a double-click sequence, in pixels.
        /// The second click must occur within the rectangle that is defined by SM_CXDOUBLECLK and SM_CYDOUBLECLK for the system to consider the two clicks a double-click. The two clicks must also occur within a specified time.
        /// To set the width of the double-click rectangle, call SystemParametersInfo with SPI_SETDOUBLECLKWIDTH.
        /// </summary>
        SM_CXDOUBLECLK = 36,

        /// <summary>
        /// The height of the rectangle around the location of a first click in a double-click sequence, in pixels.
        /// The second click must occur within the rectangle defined by SM_CXDOUBLECLK and SM_CYDOUBLECLK for the system to consider the two clicks a double-click. The two clicks must also occur within a specified time.
        /// To set the height of the double-click rectangle, call SystemParametersInfo with SPI_SETDOUBLECLKHEIGHT.
        /// </summary>
        SM_CYDOUBLECLK = 37,

        SM_XVIRTUALSCREEN = 76,
        SM_YVIRTUALSCREEN = 77,
        SM_CXVIRTUALSCREEN = 78,
        SM_CYVIRTUALSCREEN = 79,
    }
}


WhatsApp finally followed its parent company, Facebook, and corporate siblings Messenger and Instagram, into the world of stickers.
The messaging application announced in a blog post Thursday that stickers are now available for use via its iPhone and Android apps, and the first three sticker sets are called Cuppy, Komo and Salty.
The feature will roll out over the coming weeks and, once people gain access to it, they can tap the new sticker button within their chats and select the stickers they want to share, or tap the plus icon to add new sticker packs.
WhatsApp also released a set of application-programming interfaces that enable third-party designers and developers to create stickers and build apps that add those stickers to WhatsApp, on both iOS and Android.
Those third-party apps can be published to the iTunes App Store or Google Play, and WhatsApp users can download and install them to begin sending their stickers.
More information for designers and developers is available here.


text:
Headwires /// Frogs In Suits
Skylar Rogers
"Headwires" is a new single by Alternative Rock band Frogs In Suits. This tune uses hard hitting guitar chords and vocal melodies to craft together a catchy and mesmerizing song. They are heavily influenced by classic grunge artists, however this song still has elements of pop that make it an interesting combination of genres.
Frogs In Suits has four members, who met in secondary school in 2019. They are Harry Yates, lead singer, songwriter, and rhythm guitarist. Hamish Lehner, lead guitarist and backup vocals. Jordan Grant, bass and backup vocals. Justin Bailey, drummer and backup vocals. They are from Australia.
Harry Yates is the main songwriter for the band, and he explained how he sees this song. "Headwires is the spontaneous product of many emotions. An overwhelming sense of desperation and worthlessness. I simply couldn't put down the guitar or stop composing lyrics in my head. This song represents mortality and the thin line that separates life from death," he said.
The guitars present a calm and soothing introduction to the song, with them growing in texture during the chorus and verses. Yates lead vocals are touching and the lyrics offer reflection and perseverance. "Such loss, such little to gain," he sings. The drums and bass are vital to the track, as they complete the whole experience.
Yates also shared this about the connection the band wants to develop with the listeners. "We want people to feel the same way we do when writing music and performing. The emotions that drove our songs into creation–despair, sadness, frustration, and angst. Yeah OK, we have lots of fun, too. But music is a form of art. Life is art. So, we ask, why wake up if there's nothing to feel?" he said.
FOLLLOW Frogs In Suits:
PrevPreviousHere With You /// The Starkillers
NextViolence /// MovmentNext