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Some 70 percent of the 4,176 people who responded to an Outside survey for this story reported that they'd been harassed in the outdoors or while working in the outdoor industry. (Photo: Molly Mendoza)
Krista Langlois
An Outside investigation of sexual harassment in outdoor workplaces, where unwanted advances, discrimination, and assault are a frequent and destructive occurrence for far too many women
The first time Bridget Crocker was sexually harassed while on the job was in July of 1991. It happened on a typical summer day in the mountains of Wyoming—the sky a brilliant blue, towering cumulus clouds gathering on the horizon, tourists posing for pictures in front of local landmarks. The weather was unusually hot, and the rafting company where Crocker worked was doing brisk business. Crocker, then 20, was the only female guide in that day's group of five, and after a busy morning leading clients down a stretch of Class III whitewater, she had to pee. There was no time to find a bathroom, so she dashed over to some bushes behind the guide van.
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Crocker had just squatted to relieve herself when she realized that someone was standing over her. It was a male guide. From her position—slightly off-balance, vulnerable, shorts around her ankles—the man loomed large. She had been raped as a teenager less than three miles upstream from this same spot. Now alarm bells went off.
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"It's been puzzling me," the guy said, looking down at her. "Are your nipples pink or brown? I know you're a B cup, but what color are your nipples?"
"You've got some nerve," Crocker hissed. She pulled up her shorts and stormed away. The guide was fired, but others were aware that Crocker had lodged a complaint, and that soon caused problems for her.
In the weeks that followed, she was bullied for ratting out a peer. Male coworkers taped up porn in the guide van and flung insults—one called her a "dirty, hairy feminist." One evening, on the way back from the river at the end of a long day, the guide driving the van swerved onto a dirt road and pulled over. "Kiss me," he said, tapping his mouth. "Show me you're not a bitch feminist dyke."
Without waiting for a response, he leaned over and plastered his mouth on hers. From that moment, the harassment stopped. It was as if the men had demonstrated their power and were satisfied.
But Crocker had learned an important lesson: never tell. The river community is small and tightly knit, and she knew that if she wanted to fulfill her dream of working as an international guide, she couldn't develop a reputation for being difficult. Even as she became one of the best guides in the business, progressing from running the Snake to the Colorado to Class V rivers like Africa's Zambezi and Chile's Biobío, sexual harassment tainted nearly every trip she worked. "Like my PFD and ability to read maps," she later wrote, "harassment-coping skills were necessary for my survival."
As one of a relatively small number of female Class V river guides, Crocker sometimes felt alone. She wasn't. Over the past year, I corresponded with two dozen current and former river guides, both female and male, who acknowledged that sexual harassment, discrimination, and even assault are all too common on commercial river trips.
Rose McMackin, who led whitewater excursions in Utah, California, and Oregon for five years, said that getting hit on by male guides was a "consistent experience" everywhere she worked, and that one senior guide spit at and refused to speak to her after she turned down his advances. A guide from Montana named Lucy Tompkins told of a senior guide who groped her and another woman. Elisha McArthur, who has worked in Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona, told me about women who couldn't get hired or advance to more difficult stretches of river unless they were having sex with a male head guide or supervisor. Jeremy Anderson, who has guided trips in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Colorado, recounted the story of a female guide who was raped while passed out drunk. And several women, including Crocker, complained about inebriated men who crawled into their beds at night—without consent—to try and have sex with them. "That behavior wasn't out of the norm," said Anderson.
River running isn't the only outdoor pursuit where harassment occurs. Some 70 percent of the 4,176 people who responded to an Outside survey for this story reported that they'd been harassed in the outdoors or while working in the outdoor industry. I eventually talked to or exchanged e-mail with 80 such people, representing nearly every sport that the magazine has covered in its 40-year history. I spoke with women who were sexually harassed or assaulted at ski races, at mountain-bike events, while trekking overseas, at gear companies, even while reporting about the outdoors. I heard from a female scientist who was raped while conducting research at a remote field site, a woman who was stalked in the mountains of Canada by a former climbing partner, and dozens of other women who have been followed, catcalled, belittled, threatened, or asked for sexual favors in ways that made them feel profoundly unsafe while working or playing outside.
Though the problem is widespread, my reporting suggests that it's especially prevalent in the river-guiding community, where work-life boundaries are hazy and coworkers sometimes spend days or weeks camping together in remote locations. Not all rafting companies have seen incidents like Crocker's, of course, and women's experiences vary widely from one river to the next. Still, judging by the feedback I got, this stain on the seemingly laid-back sport of river running serves as a disturbing case study of what women who work in male-dominated outdoor spaces deal with on a regular basis.
In 2016, the issue gained a national spotlight when a story broke about workplace harassment in an unexpected place: the world of federally employed guides, scientists, and others working on the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park. More recently, scandals have erupted in some of America's most powerful institutions, including entertainment, journalism, sports, politics, and government. Commercial river guiding doesn't have the kind of visibility that Hollywood does, but the abuses that occur there—and the inadequate resources typically available to women when something bad happens—warrant closer scrutiny and tangible ideas for change. Fortunately, more women are ready to speak out.
With wavy blonde hair, a tan face, and a wide grin, Crocker looks like someone who has spent her life outside. She grew up fishing and hiking in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, with the Snake River winding through her backyard. From the time she was young, she says, the river was her "refuge and protection," the place she'd go when life got rough.
And it sometimes did. When Crocker was 17, she was molested by an older man. A few months later, while she was on a private canoe trip with a college student working in Wyoming for the summer, the student raped her one afternoon alongside the river.
These episodes left Crocker feeling powerless, like she wasn't worthy of protection. For two years, she carried those feelings clenched inside like a fist—until one day in September of 1990, when she and a group of friends pushed away from the shore of the Colorado River and into the gaping maw of the Grand Canyon. It was on that trip that Crocker got behind the oars of a fully loaded 18-foot raft and rowed her first real rapid. She experienced the pure, uninhibited joy of navigating whitewater, but there was another feeling, too: a sense of belonging. That's when Crocker decided to become a guide.
One evening, on the way back from the river at the end of a long day, the guide driving the van swerved onto a dirt road and pulled over. "Kiss me," he said to Crocker, tapping his mouth. "Show me you're not a bitch feminist dyke."
Almost anyone who spends time outside can relate to these emotions, but they can be especially powerful for women. According to Denise Mitten, chair of the adventure-education master's program at Arizona's Prescott College, women are more likely than men to view wilderness as a sanctuary, and women who spend time outdoors tend to have a more positive body image than those who don't. In a world where women learn from an early age to be hyperaware of how we look, the wilderness is a place where many of us finally feel at home in our bodies. It's where we gain confidence and strength, whether that involves maneuvering a boat through surging rapids or linking turns on a steep mountainside.
And then, too often, that sense of belonging is ripped away.
Many women who told me about the sexual harassment or assault they'd endured described it as a sort of betrayal. Heather McLaughlin, an assistant professor of sociology at Oklahoma State University who studies sexual harassment, has heard a similar refrain from other women. "There's a sense of loss," she says, noting that some women leave jobs or careers to escape abuse. "Whether it's working outdoors or being a police officer or working construction, to be forced out of a job you love for reasons that have nothing to do with your ability to do the job can be really heartbreaking."
During dozens of interviews I conducted, one moment in particular captured how harassment can change women's connection to the outdoors. I was having lunch with Jessie (not her real name), a Grand Canyon guide whose supervisor harassed her in 2015. Now 28, Jessie works a less fulfilling office job, and I asked whether she still runs rivers in her personal time with family or friends. She'd already described to me how deeply she'd fallen in love with whitewater, so I expected the answer to be yes. Instead, she shook her head and looked down at her food.
"Um, no," she said. "My husband's actually more into it now than me. I just really lost the joy in it."
Alisa May Geiser, a climber and adventure filmmaker who was assaulted at a ski race in the early 2000s, put it like this: "I've lost a tremendous amount of trust. There used to be a sense of safety. Like, how can anyone else who chooses to connect with the world in this way—who knows the feeling of being out in the mountains, these people you build so much trust with…" She trailed off. "Somewhere in my heart I thought we were above this. But we're not."
North America's wilderness has long been dominated by men, and our most iconic rivers are no exception. The first white man to navigate the Colorado, the one-armed Civil War hero John Wesley Powell, viewed the river the way westerners of the 19th century tended to see many wild places: as a dangerous environment that required brute strength just to survive. Like America's tallest peaks and remotest frontiers, the canyon's depths were a place for men to test their endurance and spirit.
"Many men are out there to conquer," says Mitten. "And for some, women are just one more thing to conquer."
So in the 20th century, when women began asserting their right to be included in the wilderness, they often met with resistance. "Women have their place in this world, but they do not belong in the canyons of the Colorado," wrote river pioneer Buzz Holmstrom in 1938, after an outfitter announced his intent to take two female passengers on a Grand Canyon raft trip.
Yet women continued to push into the canyon's inner depths. In 1952, Georgie White became the first woman to climb behind the oars and successfully row the Grand Canyon's notorious rapids. As a guide, she was known for serving her clients their meals straight out of cans and partying like one of the boys. Also like them, White largely refused to hire female guides when she started her own river-running company in the mid-1950s. She preferred burly ex-firefighters as boatmen and employed women as cooks.
It wasn't until the late 1970s that female boaters really broke into commercial rafting on the Colorado and other rivers. The term sexual harassment wouldn't be widely used for two more decades, but early female guides described treatment that would be considered illegal today: companies that refused to hire them, colleagues who called them "boat hags," promotions denied because they were assumed to be weak. None dared complain. To be granted the honor of rowing a raft, women needed to prove they were tough and capable—and that meant sucking it up. Most figured that once they demonstrated skill and strength, they'd be fully accepted on the Colorado and other rivers.
They were wrong.
In January of 2016, the legacy of sexism on America's rivers exploded into the news and public consciousness. A 13-page report from the Department of the Interior's inspector general found "evidence of a long-term pattern of sexual harassment and hostile work environment" in Grand Canyon National Park's River District. Four current and former River District employees had subjected female guides and others to a steady stream of sexual advances, refusing them food or otherwise retaliating when the women turned them down. According to the complaints, the boatmen had also stuck cameras up women's skirts, groped and verbally berated them, and exposed themselves.
The federal employees kept quiet at first. "It was complicated," one told Outside in 2016. "I relied on [the boatman] to have my back on the water. If I made enemies, I'd be screwed out there."
Eventually, several female employees became so afraid for their safety that they filed formal complaints with interior secretary Sally Jewell. Those led to a lengthy investigation and a damning report from the inspector general, the dissolution of the River District, and a congressional hearing. Park superintendent Dave Uberuaga retired four months after the report was released. Although the response to the incidents was far from perfect, one Grand Canyon guide, who spoke to me on the condition of anonymity, said that the overall feeling was relief. At last, issues that had been swept under the rug for so long were being openly acknowledged.
Yet the same guide said that, compared with public-sector agencies, the commercial boating industry has been far less willing to address its own "prevalent" sexual-harassment problems. Additionally, since the thousands of commercial river guides around the country far outnumber the 35 people who eventually spoke out about the Grand Canyon River District, the problem in the industry is wider in scope—and more difficult to pin down.
In January of 2016, Crocker was having lunch at her home on the California coast when she saw an article online about harassment in the Park Service. She clicked through to the report detailing the Grand Canyon guides' experiences, then printed a copy. By the time she finished reading the first page, tears were running down her cheeks. "I realized even then that this was an important document in the history of the sport," she says.
After composing herself, Crocker, now a travel writer, grabbed a pen and highlighter and began annotating the report with her own experiences. Next to a section about a woman who'd asked her supervisor what she could do to help and was told she could "get naked," Crocker wrote about the times she'd heard similar responses. Next to a section that described retaliation when a woman rebuffed a supervisor's advances, she wrote about a trip leader who'd told her she'd never work for that company again after she'd refused to have sex with him.
Crocker's notes spilled out of the margins and onto the backs of the pages. It wasn't until she saw her experiences listed in one place that she realized that the things she'd put up with for years weren't just part of a freewheeling river culture. They were potentially illegal.
Other commercial guides had similar reactions. Nikki Cooley, a 38-year-old Navajo woman who led raft trips in Arizona and Utah from 2000 to 2013, read the report alongside her husband, Craig Ahrens, also a river guide, at their home in Flagstaff. At one point they looked up at each other with the same response: It's about fucking time.
"I've been harassed many times," Cooley told me in a phone interview. She recalled a man who'd repeatedly shown her his penis and another who'd told her she belonged in the kitchen. "I had one trip leader who would always look while I was taking a bath," she added. "I had to start bathing with my clothes on."
Is there a higher rate of sexual harassment and abuse among river guides than in other outdoor sports? While there's no data to say for sure, there are several reasons why sexual misconduct may seem particularly common in rafting. One is the sheer size of the industry. In 2016, for example, roughly 276,500 people signed up to be led down the Arkansas River near Salida, Colorado—the nation's most popular commercially rafted stretch of whitewater. By comparison, that same year, just shy of 11,000 people attempted to climb Washington's Mount Rainier, one of America's most popular peaks for beginning climbers, and not all of them used guides.
It doesn't help that, compared with sports like climbing and skiing, rafting is still relatively unregulated. Ski resorts are increasingly owned by large corporations that have a phalanx of human-resources professionals to draft sexual-harassment policies and make sure they're followed. Alpine guides are often certified through the American Mountain Guides Association (AMGA), which holds guides and outfitters to high standards of conduct.
Rafting, by contrast, has no governing body, and companies tend to be small and family run. Lenore Perconti, a raft guide with ten years' experience who also works in human resources at a ski resort, says that most river businesses don't have the resources to hire HR professionals, so few provide adequate sexual-harassment training or have internal processes in place for employees to file claims. Complaints are handled by people who haven't necessarily been taught how to deal with them, and are rarely reported to state or federal agencies. When you're poorly paid, seasonally employed, and living out of your truck or van, as many raft guides are, going through the hassle and expense of finding a lawyer or figuring out how to file a claim with the state labor agency or the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is practically unthinkable.
"That's when I was like, there are complete assholes down here who I have to wade through if I want to stay," Jessie recalls. "That was my first experience of feeling so, I don't know, female. like I had a target on my back."
This makes quantifying the scope of sexual misconduct in commercial river guiding difficult, especially compared with public-sector fields that have been roiled by sexual abuse. In the National Park Service and Forest Service, employees attend training sessions on how to identify and report sexual misconduct, and federal offices are tasked with collecting reports and ensuring that perpetrators remain accountable. The system is far from perfect, but at least it's a system.
In river guiding, there's no such clearinghouse, no body to impose regulations. Women who are harassed often don't know where to turn.
The woman I'm calling Jessie is soft-spoken but forceful, with long red hair. Growing up in a small mountain town in Colorado, she decided as a teenager that she wanted to be a river guide. She started locally, then moved up to bigger waters in California, Utah, and Colorado. In 2011, she earned one of the most coveted spots for a North American guide: rowing rafts on multi-day trips through the Grand Canyon.
At first, Jessie was in heaven—she characterizes her early years in the canyon as the happiest time of her life. The senior boatmen she trained with had been guides for a decade or more, and Jessie expected that she'd stay in rafting for a similar stretch. As long as she didn't get pregnant, the boatmen told her, she'd have no trouble. Jessie laughed this off. She had no plans to start a family.
In 2014, after three seasons on the river, Jessie met a guide she'd never worked with before. Early on during one Grand Canyon trip, he revealed that he was having marital troubles and started drinking heavily. On their third day out, as the guides were getting ready to tuck in for the night on their rafts—clients sleep on land, guides generally on top of their boats—the man drunkenly lingered on Jessie's raft, making her uneasy. "He wouldn't leave me alone," she says. Another guide saw what was happening and invited her to sleep on his boat.
The next night, as Jessie was getting ready for bed, the same man crawled onto her boat, put his hand on her hip, and asked if he could sleep with her. She demanded that he leave.
"That's when I was like, There are complete assholes down here who I have to wade through if I want to stay," she recalls. "That was my first experience of feeling so, I don't know, female. Like I had a target on my back."
When the trip ended, Jessie considered reporting the guide's behavior to the company's owners, but she says her trip leader advised against it. He told her that a formal report could result in a harassment investigation, and dealing with that would be traumatizing for her.
"He made it sound like he was looking out for me," Jessie says. "At that point he'd been working at the company for 11 or 12 years, so he knew the game. He knew that if I was seen as a problem, I potentially could not get as many trips the next year."
Jessie's trip leader recalls the situation differently—he says that he laid out the options for her and she chose not to make a formal complaint. Whichever version is true, she kept quiet.
The following summer, Jessie was guiding another trip, and after having a couple of drinks one evening, she stumbled and spilled some dishwater on the beach. It wasn't a big deal, but a client noticed, and Jessie decided that she should apologize to her trip leader for appearing to be drunk on the job. This person was a senior guide in the company and had enormous power over how many trips she would get in the future.
Jessie was sitting in her raft, and she called to the trip leader as he walked by. He climbed into her raft, put his arm around her, and told her not to worry. Then, without warning, he lifted her up and flipped her into the back deck of the boat, a distance of several feet. There, he held her on top of him and wrapped his arms around her. "As I'm trying to wiggle out, his face is right there and he's trying to kiss me," Jessie says. She shoved an elbow into his chest and pushed away.
At this point in her story, Jessie pauses, her voice getting thin. "You feel so betrayed," she says. "There are these old men who get to just stick around, and what do they have to endure to keep their place as guides? Not as much as a young woman who's trying to break through the ranks and become a senior boatman."
Jessie says she again felt dissuaded from filing a complaint. In an e-mail to me, she wrote: "I was literally sobbing on the phone with a manager, feeling scared and extremely vulnerable, and instead of something like, 'Let us help you, because something bad obviously happened,' I remember the manager pointing out that there are differences between inappropriate behaviors and sexual harassment. That filled me with so much doubt and really clammed me up. What was the point then of coming forward?"
One of Jessie's coworkers and a friend corroborate her account of the two incidents, and other river guides agreed that complaining can have an impact on a guide's ability to move ahead in the job. When reached for comment, a spokesperson at the company where Jessie worked—which she doesn't want to name—says that upper management was aware of one incident from the time period Jessie worked there, but that they weren't able to investigate it because the employee asked them not to.
That was Jessie's last Grand Canyon trip. "I lost a lot," she told me. "A career on one of the greatest rivers in the world, respect for myself because I feel like I failed every other female in the canyon by not coming forward, not to mention confidence in myself and my voice. The guys who harassed me? To my knowledge, they're still employed."
Harassment and violence can happen anywhere, but researchers have found that such behavior is especially likely in male-dominated workplaces. Heather McLaughlin of Oklahoma State University has found that when women are socially isolated, they're more likely to experience behaviors or comments about their bodies that are "menacing, malicious, or degrading." Behavior that might be simply unsettling in an office can take on a much darker tone in a remote canyon, where there's nowhere to go but downstream.
This behavior can have devastating consequences for women as they pursue ambitious, difficult careers. In a study published in the journal Gender and Society, McLaughlin found that a surprising number of women who experience sexual harassment quit their jobs. In a sample of 364 women who McLaughlin tracked over a two-year period, 54 percent reported switching jobs. Among women who had experienced harassment, the rate was closer to 80 percent. Many changed careers entirely, moving to fields where they thought sexual misconduct would be less pervasive.
Finding a new profession has economic consequences. But in fields like river guiding that are majority male, it also preserves the gender imbalance that fuels harassment. "When you objectify women and treat them like they don't belong or are less competent, a lot quit," McLaughlin says. "It perpetuates the very skewed number of women represented in an industry."
Without statistics, it's impossible to know how many women, like Jessie, leave river life after being mistreated. Still, every female river guide I spoke with characterized the industry as male dominated. A journalist in West Virginia who researched harassment and gender disparity found that only two in ten guides on two of the most popular rivers in the state are women. A male guide told me that in his two years on Canada's Kicking Horse River, there wasn't a single full-time female guide employed by the company he worked for.
The disparities may be greater among senior-level guides. According to Alexandra Thevenin, co-owner of a Flagstaff-based company called Arizona Raft Adventures (AZRA), more than half of entry-level guides are women, but only a handful of the company's top guides are. Thevenin believes that's because women either have kids and don't return to guiding, or they realize at a younger age that it's not a sustainable long-term career.
Some guides I spoke to agree with that assessment, but many are also convinced by McLaughlin's research: a hostile environment drives young women away.
Lucy Tompkins, a 23-year-old former raft guide from Montana, is a good example. As a kid, Tompkins had gone on raft trips on Idaho's Salmon River and fallen in love—not just with whitewater, but with living outside, waking up to the sounds and smells of a river. After her freshman year in college, she tagged along on a commercial river trip to set up camp and cook, gaining experience so she could become a guide.
During that trip, Tompkins found herself hanging out with a woman who was rowing a gear boat. Tompkins noticed the intense pressure she faced. When she got her boat stuck on a rock, she was inordinately worried that she would lose the hard-earned respect of her male colleagues. "I got a taste of how hard women have to work to be recognized," Tompkins says.
Undeterred, Tompkins applied the next summer to guide raft trips on a Class III river in Montana. The company was founded by women and prided itself on having a family-friendly atmosphere. But one day during training, a male guide cracked a joke that began: "What's the difference between a woman and a washing machine?"
The punch line—that a washing machine doesn't follow you around after you dump your load into it—made Tompkins uncomfortable. "It just seemed really unnecessary," she says. "You can have fun and be sort of raunchy without getting into that territory."
Later that day, all the guides were together on the river when a different man told the joke again. Knowing that Tompkins disliked it, he singled her out to deliver the punch line. She refused. All her coworkers were there, egging her on. "That was hard for me," she says. "I might've teared up a bit."
Another time, in a crowded truck, an older guide put his hand on her upper thigh. He had often flirted with her and other female guides in the past, but this was too much.
The incidents caused other guides to label Tompkins uptight. Feeling like she didn't fit in was painful, and the following season she decided not to return. "I would've liked to," she told me. "I loved being outside and feeling strong enough to maneuver a raft through a rapid, but it was never that inclusive an environment."
"One of my concerns as an owner has always been that victims don't let us know when problems arise," says Alexandra Thevenin, of Arizona Raft Adventures. "Until we know what's happening, we can't put a stop to it."
In addition to outright harassment from colleagues, female guides regularly encounter customers who undermine them in sexist ways. Stacy Williams, who rowed dories and led fly-fishing trips on Utah's Green River for five years in the 1990s, told me about a client who asked whether a blow job came with the lunch she was preparing for him. Teresa Jennings, a raft guide on the Arkansas from 2005 to 2009, often had clients look at her, look at the burly guy standing next to her, and request to be in his boat. Or they would question whether she was strong enough to handle Class IV rapids. One guy told her that he "had a hard time taking direction from women."
Such behaviors erode confidence, ultimately convincing women that they don't belong. "As a woman in the outdoor industry, you have to work twice as hard and be twice as tough and twice as badass in order to get half the respect," says Elisha McArthur. "I think more women would stay in the industry if it was a more welcoming place."
As more stories of sexual abuse in the outdoors have come to light, women have begun to reassert their place in America's wilderness. After the Grand Canyon sexual-harassment report was released, Crocker was inspired to speak out in an online article for Men's Journal. Her story inspired Jess Daddio, the guide turned journalist who investigated sexual harassment on rivers in West Virginia. And Lucy Tompkins talked about her experiences to a local newspaper. Gradually, in the slow-motion way that an 18-foot raft turns in a current, things have started to change.
When Tompkins decided she wasn't going to return to guiding, for instance, she sent her former boss an e-mail describing her reasons for quitting. "Sexist jokes just aren't funny," she wrote. "I know river culture is traditionally crass, but I think that is born from its exclusive white-male origins. If we are going to bring people of different genders and backgrounds into river culture, it can't continue to make fun of and humiliate them."
The co-owner thanked her for speaking up, adding that the senior guide who'd touched Tompkins had been stripped of his leadership position.
Other guiding companies are making changes, too. In 2016, AZRA's Thevenin revamped her company's harassment training from a five-minute read of a written policy to an hourlong session that teaches what sexual harassment looks like and how to report it. She says the move was prompted partly by the Park Service scandal but also because of a situation in which an employee wasn't comfortable coming forward with an experience regarding alleged sexual misconduct.
"One of my concerns as an owner has always been that victims don't let us know when problems arise," Thevenin says. "Until we know what's happening, we can't put a stop to it. It's the responsibility of the employer to help victims find a voice." She hopes that AZRA's new mandatory-reporting policy—which requires employees to speak up if they're aware of harassment or assault—will encourage people to come forward.
Other companies have banned guides from drinking alcohol, and people in the outdoor industry are beginning to broach the topic in their personal circles. "We've been dealing with this issue heavily," says Grand Canyon guide Laura Fallon. "As a group, we very much processed and talked about it." And in early 2017, the America Outdoors Association trade group created an anti-harassment policy and reporting form that it distributed to nearly 600 outdoor recreation companies, many of them river related.
But Lenore Perconti, the raft guide turned HR professional, says that formal policies aren't the whole answer. When she started guiding a decade ago, sexual-harassment training consisted of watching one of those 1990s videos of office workers acting out harassment scenarios. In one of them, a man talks about the dangers of misconduct while a creepy boss rubs his secretary's shoulders. River guides, who often live in trucks and trailers and party with their coworkers every night, doubled over with laughter.
"People don't take things seriously when they don't connect with them," Perconti says. "The video became fuel for a culture that dismissed some of these potentially very serious issues. Despite the fact that companies are making their employees watch these videos and having them sign policies, sexual harassment still happens, because the culture hasn't changed."
For the past two years, Perconti has tried to change the culture by taking over sexual-harassment training at the company she used to work for. Instead of showing a cheesy video, she emphasizes open conversations about what's appropriate, where to draw the line between work life and personal life, and how to spot situations that make other people uncomfortable. But in an industry made up of dozens of mom-and-pop businesses scattered across the country, making improvements in one place can achieve only so much. Perconti has tried to offer her services to other rafting companies, but so far they've turned her down.
That's why guide Elisha McArthur is starting her own company, Canyon River Instruction, in Colorado, to offer raft training and women-specific clinics. She hopes eventually to use the curriculum to standardize raft-guide training nationwide. Right now, she says, river guiding in the U.S. isn't seen as a career the way it is in places like Canada and New Zealand; here it's something you do when you're young, you rarely get benefits, and you're easily replaceable. She hopes to modernize training and create industry-wide certifications through an organization like the American Canoe Association, eventually professionalizing rafting the way the AMGA helped legitimize climbing—and perhaps building the kind of environment where sexual harassment is no longer ingrained in the culture.
It's a slow process, though, and McArthur is bracing for pushback. The river community has always existed outside the boundaries of conventional society, and many want it to stay that way. As one Grand Canyon guide wrote to me, some commercial guides "are upset that the boating world will now become more scrutinized. For them, one of the best things about being in the canyon was that the proper rules from the outside world didn't apply—there was a freedom and a throwback to the good old days. The new attention to sexual harassment and discrimination is getting in the way of their fun."
But as Jeremy Anderson puts it, "Yeah, maybe your freedom's going to be taken away if you're a douchebag. But if you're not, you're still going to be able to do your thing."
The afternoon I spoke with Nikki Cooley, she was in her office at Northern Arizona University, where she works to help Native American tribes write climate-change management plans. Her then six-year-old daughter was home sick from school that day and was playing quietly in her mother's office.
"I've always said that I don't want my daughter to be a river guide," Cooley said. "I don't want her to be around men who think it's OK to harass women, because you have no place to turn."
By telling their stories, Cooley, Crocker, and other women hope that the next generation of female river guides will find a more welcoming environment. When she was first getting into guiding, Crocker confided to an older woman—an outdoor guide herself—how she'd been treated by her male coworkers. The woman responded that if Crocker wanted to stay in the industry, she'd better learn how to deal with it.
"I don't want to have to pass on to younger raft guides what that woman told me," Crocker says. "I refuse. That's a big part of why I came forward. Maybe by the time the next generation is older, it won't be an issue for them. I hope so. I can't imagine rivers not being part of their lives."
Krista Langlois (@cestmoiLanglois) is a writer in Durango, Colorado. She has guided canoe, kayak, and raft trips in Utah, Alaska, and New Zealand. Molly Mendoza is an illustrator based in Portland, Oregon.
From Outside Magazine, March 2018
Filed To: Grand CanyonRiversWhitewater RaftingCanoeingKayakingOutside FeaturesEvergreen
Lead Photo: Molly Mendoza
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The Forest Service Is Silencing Women
By: Kathryn Joyce
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The First Licensed Native Guide in the Grand Canyon
By: Anna Callaghan


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The Jackdaws of Bodmin Jail
There are many stories and tales regarding Jackdaws and their mysteries. The Jackdaws of Bodmin Jail have their own story and history.
According to legend the first Jackdaws arrived at the jail in November of 1846 after their owner was incarcerated and included them in her crimes.
As the legend goes Rose Wright was born in Luxulyan (a small village located on the edge of Bodmin Moor) sometime in early 1811, she was known as a witch in her local community. For many years she was held with fear and respect within the village, she would make herbal remedies and "potions" for people to help with their ailments. As the story goes, one year there was a drought and the villagers blamed Rose and her witchcraft – where once there was fear there was now hatred and anger. They shunned her, and she now had no means to make money to provide for herself.
Rose lived near the woods, and this was where she gathered her herbs for her remedies. She became lonely, ignored by the village people she had once counted as friends, and over time she reportedly made friends with the animals living within the woods. Among these were the Jackdaws: an intelligent bird which has always had empathy and affinity towards humans. They also have a love of shiny things, like their larger cousins the Magpies. Unlike Magpies, however, Jackdaws are quick and nimble, and their size means they can get in out of tighter spaces and create mischief!
Allegedly, Rose became aware of this by pure chance as one of her feathered friends brought her a gift of a few shillings it had stolen from one of the villagers. This gave Rose an idea: she could use the Jackdaws to steal money/items for her, she was desperate and did not want to starve. She spent some time training her pets, they learned quickly, so soon she had amassed a small haul of jewellery and coins. Obviously, this did not go unnoticed by the villagers of Luxulyan and they demanded the local gentry and law deal with Rose.
Accounts say that Rose was arrested and incarcerated at the jail after her conviction on November 19th, 1846, she was 36 years old. Rose was unfortunately ill upon arrival at the prison due to malnutrition and dysentery caused by her poor diet after her shunning. The Jackdaws came with her, and stories are told of them being mischievous; they would harass the guards and other prisoners -making noises throughout the night and being a nuisance within the Jail walls. They would try to steal the cell keys from the guards, but they were unsuccessful – Rose died in her damp & grimy cell on January 13th 1847, 2 months after her incarceration, weak and frail from her long-standing illness.
The Jackdaws did not leave after her death – the story tells that Rose put a curse upon the jail and the county town of Bodmin 'should the last Jackdaw be born at Bodmin Gaol, so the spirits of the condemned shall rise and bring misfortune and chaos to all that reside within'.
Image taken from flickr.com

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Moses' narration of events occurring from the time Israel encountered YHWH at Zion through to the dramatic moment in which he delivers his sermons to a people about to wet their feet in the Jordan is a damning tale.
From this lawgiver's perspective, YHWH has been attentive to the people's needs during their generation of wandering. This same postponed generation has seen YHWH guide them through the politics of semi-nomadism, the necessary passages through claimed turf, and cultivated in them a desire for a place to call their own.
Moses ask rhetorically what other nation has known a god to walk in its midst as YHWH has walked in Israel's. What other nation has been given statutes and ordinances that produce community and life, as Israel has received? His delineation of Israel's life among the nations is a familiar one: They worship idols while Israel worships the living God who has set up camp in their midst.
How sadly then does Moses' anticipation of Israelite idolatry ring upon the ears and settle achingly upon the heart. It will lead, he tells them, to YHWH driving them out from the land he will have given them. They will become conquest's flotsam and jetsam among those same, darkened nations from which they once seemed so distinct.
From there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find him if you search after him with all your heart and soul. In your distress, when all these things have happened to you in time to come, you will return to the LORD your God and heed him. Because the LORD your God is a merciful God, he will neither abandon you nor destroy you; he will not forget the covenant with your ancestors that he swore to them.
When another biblical writer urges his readers to 'seek the Lord while he may be found', the urgency depends upon the very real possibility that even a patient God may grow weary of waiting. However, the exhortation depends as well upon a truth that settles even closer to the bedrock of reality: YHWH is infinitely discover-able, for those who seek—in the Mosaic, Deuteronomic sense—with all their heart and soul.


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Q: NSData baseEncodedString returning nil What am I doing wrong in my swift project? My line
NSData.init(base64EncodedString: parameters[0], options: .IgnoreUnknownCharacters)

is returning nil.
parameters[0] = "LFGNzD83/G8"

A: Doesn't look like that's a valid b64 string. Try this web app to encode some text https://www.base64decode.org/. For example, VGVzdGluZw== is the word testing.
let b64String = "VGVzdGluZw==" // Is "Testing" b64 encoded from utf8
let encodedData = NSData.init(base64EncodedString: b64String, options: [])
print(String(data: encodedData!, encoding: NSUTF8StringEncoding)) // > "Testing"

Noted in another SO answer, "padding at the end which is 0, 1 or 2 '=' characters" It is possible to know if a string is encoded in base64?
So it looks like a quick check of equal signs at the end is enough to tell you it's not base64.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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Eclectic Kalamazoo Artists Band Together for Covers Album
Bobby Guy
Bobby Guy Published: November 10, 2021
Vasyl Dolmatov
Feed your appetite to support local music and feed the homeless in Kalamazoo. 'Cover Your Bases' is a benefit compilation album of cover songs by local artists.
Kalamazoo has always had a thriving local music scene. Here's your chance to check out ten area artists, hear some choice tunes, and feel good about helping feed the homeless. Fake Baseball Presents, a page "dedicated to collaboration and proliferating art for the community good," presents the compilation album Cover Your Bases.
Available now, this project features ten Kalamazoo-area bands' interpretations of songs by The Beatles, Bruce Springsteen, George Michael, Stevie Wonder, Cher, and others. Some you will know, some will be new. Here are a couple of highlights:
Time of the Season
Fake Baseball's version of the Zombies' classic "Time of the Season" leads the compilation with a female vocal that swings. The arrangement is funky and energetic. A honking saxophone leads the horn section into the bridge, layered with layered keyboards seemingly clashing, but it works. The Zombies were more psychedelic on some of their other work, and so is this track.
Soak Up the Sun
"Soak Up the Sun" gets the 8-bit treatment from Katy Needs a Life. This is what Sheryl Crow would sound like inside an '80s video game.
I'm not sure I can tell you exactly why, but I like what Jordan Hamilton has done with "Blackbird," even though it is, at times, unrecognizable.
Fake Baseball Presents supports the efforts of local charity Food Not Bombs. From their Facebook community: "Food Not Bombs Kalamazoo is committed to providing hot, healthy, tasty food to unhoused individuals in our community. We also deliver requested supplies such as hand sanitizer, masks, toilet paper, etc."
Recorded locally at La Luna Recording and Sound, housed in a former WWII foundry in Kalamazoo's Edison Neighborhood, the digital album Cover Your Bases sounds great. Your $10 donation to the project gets you unlimited streaming of the record via the free Bandcamp app, plus a high-quality download in MP3 and FLAC. Check it out here.
Think You KNow All the Songs About Kalamazoo?
Our Top 16 Songs That Mention Michigan in the Lyrics
Right off the top of your head, you can think of two or three songs that mention Michigan or Michigan cities in the Lyrics, right?
But we decided to dig a little deeper and came up with 16 songs that mention the Mitten State. Surprisingly, Michigan-born artists like Stevie Wonder and Madonna don't make the list, but Bob Seger has a whopping three songs that make mention of his home state.
Let us know if there are any essential Michigan songs that need to be included.
Songs That Mention Michigan
We've put together a list of 50 songs that mention Michigan. Take a look and see how many you've heard! If you've heard all 50, congratulations, you're a true Michigander.
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| Penn Benjamins will offer student-to-student counseling
Penn Benjamins will offer student-to-student counseling
By Ruihong Liu 02/01/15 11:06pm
Penn Benjamins director Emily Derecktor and organizer Diego Fiori.
Credit: Courtesy of Emily Derecktor
Next fall, Penn students will have the chance to share their feelings and concerns with Penn Benjamins, a new peer counseling group led by student counselors who are trained by CAPS therapists.
College juniors Emily Derecktor and Diego Fiori, College senior Jordan Lidsky-Everson and College sophomore Roy Lan are the leading forces behind the new group. This semester, the group will focus on training counselors. It will begin counseling students next fall.
In light of the several student deaths over the past year and increased focus on mental health throughout the University, the Penn Benjamins founders shared their motivations behind the establishment of the group.
Derecktor was inspired by personal experience. "I certainly was affected by the events from last year, but I actually approached CAPS last fall before anything had happened," she said, adding that her college adjustment process made her want to help her peers who might undergo similar experiences.
"Personally, I just had a hard time adjusting to college, so I felt like this sort of resource, when you don't want to go to a counselor, but just want to go to someone who knows what they're doing, would be something that would be highly valued," Derecktor said. "It's good to have someone who is your peer, and has undergone similar experiences ... There is a lot of power in that type of validation."
The founders believe that peer counseling can sometimes be more approachable than professional counseling resources.
"You might feel a little alienated when talking to a therapist," Derecktor said. "Sometimes it's just better to have someone saying, 'Yes, I've been through this, I've been at your age.'"
They also said that they were inspired by similar student counseling groups on other university campuses. With comparable organizations existing at the University of Washington in St. Louis, Cornell, Northwestern, Harvard, Yale and Stanford, Penn Benjamins will bring Penn up to the curve.
"It's something that's pretty common on college campuses, so it's sort of surprising that Penn doesn't have it yet," Fiori said.
For Penn Benjamins, just as for any other peer counseling group, issues related to confidentiality and trust are at the forefront.
"I think trust is something that grows with time, and hopefully people can trust us," Derecktor said.
Penn Benjamins has been trying to collaborate with Penn's other student-run mental health groups such as RAP-Line. At the same time, it also has to try to distinguish itself.
"Active Minds is more of an awareness group. Ours is more targeted towards students, and actually talking to them," Derecktor said. "What really distinguishes us is that we are really focused on providing high-quality service and are trained by CAPS."
Fiori also mentioned that Penn Benjamins will be the first peer counseling group that is open to everyone.
"Organizations such as [the] LGBT center and Women's Center have resources like this, but ours is the first organization that is generally targeted towards everyone," Fiori said.
For Derecktor and Fiori, one of the group's main goals is to make Penn Benjamins welcoming and ensure that students are comfortable.
"We didn't want our name to be something intimidating like 'Penn Peer Counselors,'" Fiori said.
According to the founders, CAPS is an essential part of establishing Penn Benjamins. With a well-established curriculum, CAPS will train Penn Benjamins in the basics of interpersonal therapy, how to help students when they're stressed and how to give them concrete ways to deal with their problems. The Penn Benjamins will also foster a connection to CAPS.
"If it's something that's beyond us, we're also going to have the contacts and the resources to help [students] out [by referring them] to CAPS or somewhere else that can better help them," Fiori said.
Penn Benjamins emphasizes, however, that it is not an alternative to CAPS, but rather a supplement.
"The goal is not to try to change the world — the goal is to help people out and do whatever we can, whether that's talking to them or whether that's helping them find the help they need. That's our spirit," Fiori said.
Penn Benjamins is still recruiting interested members until the end of this week. Interested applicants can send their emails to pennbenjamins@gmail.com.


Working in a high-growth company is never easy. Every process is under continuous stress as you drive to ever-increasing levels of scale. It's challenging. You have to constantly trail blaze new territories, come up with clever solutions, and balance urgencies with investing in making everything better - the product, the team, the culture, the office, the communication, the tools, etc.
That's why A-players thrive in high-growth environments. They can have an even bigger impact and aren't trapped by the traditional silos and constraints of bigger companies.
But what is an A-player? It's a bit different at every company based on their culture. Here are the qualities we look for at Perch.
You say what you are going to do and do it, on time. People can count on you and your commitment to yourself and the team. You recognize that meeting commitments avoids increased workloads, disappointed clients and internal frustrations.
You deliver above and beyond as a mantra. You propose solutions not problems. You are a constant and positive force. If you are blocked, you work to unblock things and bubble that up. You tell the team if something is going to be delayed well before the deadline.
You strive to learn from each and every experience. You drive to continuously improve your skill sets, knowledge and networks. You actively seek out answers to open questions, actively request feedback and incorporate it.
You create your best work with others. Have great communication skills. You seek to help others and make their lives better, recognizing how heavily we rely on each other.
You are down with the Perch mission: To revolutionize in-store retail marketing by uniting physical products with digital marketing. Revolutionizing the industry means constantly pushing the boundaries of what we can do along with the quality and capability of our products and services.
If the above sounds like you, it doesn't matter if we have an open job req or not. We want to meet you. We want to understand why this might be the right opportunity for you. Email us at info@perchinteractive.com with why you want to meet and why you think you excel at the above. Building the team is the most important thing I do as CEO. I hope you want to be a part of this amazing journey ahead.
Older PostWhat if Amazon Had No Search or Product Pages?


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Wolf's roundtable discussion published in Computer magazine
Dec 05, 2022 By Victoria Grdina
Marilyn Wolf
IEEE's Computer magazine recently published a roundtable discussion led by Elmer E. Koch Professor of Engineering and School of Computing Director Marilyn Wolf.
The roundtable discussion focused on computer engineering education and was conducted in the summer off 2022 over a combination of email and virtual meetings. The panel explored what topics are of importance to the computer engineering curriculum, what distinguishes computer engineering from related disciplines, and how computer engineering concepts should be taught to students.
"I organized the panel with leading experts in computer engineering education and leading programs," Wolf said.
The roundtable panelists included:
John M. Acken, Portland State University
Jay Brockman, University of Notre Dame
Greg Byrd, North Carolina State University
Robert Dick, University of Michigan
David Harris, Harvey Mudd College
Jan Madsen, Technical University of Denmark
Mani Srivastava, University of California, Los Angeles
New governmental statutes and initiatives prompted Wolf to assemble the panel to focus on how such changes may impact computer engineering education.
"The CHIPS and Science Act, which has identified semiconductor technology as a national priority, gives added motivation to address this topic now," Wolf said.
The panel discussion provided a range of perspectives and useful insights on a variety of computer engineering education topics from renowned voices within the field.
"One important outcome was the broad acceptance of embedded computing as a core component of the computer engineering curriculum," Wolf said.
Computer, the flagship publication of the IEEE Computer Society, publishes peer-reviewed articles written for and by computer researchers and practitioners representing the full spectrum of computing and information technology, from hardware to software and from emerging research to new applications. The aim is to provide more technical substance than trade magazines and more practical ideas than research journals. Computer seeks to deliver useful information for all computing professionals and students, including computer scientists, engineers, and practitioners of all levels.
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers is the world's largest technical professional organization for the advancement of technology for the benefit of humanity. IEEE and its members inspire a global community to innovate for a better tomorrow through highly cited publications, conferences, technology standards, and professional and educational activities. IEEE is the trusted "voice" for engineering, computing, and technology information around the globe.


Perkins & Anctil, P.C. is proud to announce that Attorney Charles A. Perkins, Jr., a College of Community Association Lawyers fellow, has been awarded the 2017 Business Partner of the Year Award from the New England Community Associations Institute. This award is presented to an individual who provides exemplary service to his client associations as well as to the broader community association industry through his involvement with education and legislative initiatives.
Thank you Charlie for your ongoing dedication as well as your time and resources that you volunteer to the community.
We want to thank all of you who took the time to participate in our recent survey regarding copyrights and condominiums. While I had some concern that this topic may seem obscure to many of you, my fears appear to have been unfounded. We tallied the most responses that we have ever received for a single survey, with input from over one hundred participants!
Almost forty percent (40%) indicated that their association has hosted or authorized a resident to host a function in a common area facility at which recorded or live music was played.
Just about a quarter of participants (24%) indicated that they have hosted or authorized a resident to host a "movie night," book club/reading or other performance of copyrighted materials in common areas.
Another forty-four percent (44%) indicated that they play or allow residents to play music in common areas such as pool areas or fitness facilities.
In addition, twenty percent (20%) of respondents reported that their associations use images or artwork in their webpage or other materials without knowing whether they own the rights in such media.
Overall, these numbers are higher than what we would have anticipated and may suggest that a number of associations have unwittingly exposed themselves to potential infringement liability.
Your feedback and comments were also informative. Many respondents wrote that they only allowed individuals to play music from CDs, iPods or similar devices; however, this alone would not necessarily absolve the association from copyright infringement. Other respondents indicated that no money was charged in connection with the events, and thus, they did not anticipate any issue. Again, while the exchange of funds may be a contributing factor in an infringement finding, there can be infringement without any ticket sales, contributions or donations.
5. The right to display the work publicly.
While not all of these rights are likely to be problematic in the association context, many associations inadvertently run afoul of the restrictions prohibiting unauthorized reproduction, public display and performance or even distribution of copies.
Pursuant to 17 USC §501 (a): "Anyone who violates any of the exclusive rights of the copyright owner ... is an infringer of the copyright or right of the author, as the case may be." In the case of community associations, infringement most frequently manifests itself in the form of unlicensed or unauthorized public or semi-public displays or performances of copyright protected works. The Copyright Act requires that an association have the appropriate license(s) in place for any public performance of protected works.
Penalties for infringement are significant. A copyright owner can receive either actual damages and profits, or statutory damages in the amount of up to $150,000.00.
It may not. Of over one hundred respondents to our survey, only one replied that he had received a notice of infringement or other communication from a Performance Rights Organization ("PRO"). This is not particularly shocking. By and large it seems that PROs would not necessarily make community associations in New England their top targets for infringement claims. We suspect that restaurants, bars, hotels and other such facilities are much more likely to end up on the receiving end of a PRO demand.
However, that is not to say that community associations should not be mindful of these issues. For those associations who regularly allow or host displays or performances at their common facilities, best practice would be to obtain licenses directly from the PROs, to negotiate with performers to ensure that they have proper licenses in place, or to attempt to ensure that any displays or performances of copyright materials are otherwise covered by appropriate exceptions to infringement.
The Community Associations Institute New England Chapter's Association Achievement Award categories include Community of the Year, Creative Solutions, Manager of the Year and others which are handed out to industry professionals and community leaders. The Annual CAI-NE Banquet will be held on March 24, 2017 at the Marriott Hotel in Burlington, MA. Those wishing to attend can sign up at https://www.caine.org/. The nomination form is available at http://www.caine.org/_documents/Newsletter/Attachment/NewsletterAtt384.pdf.
The role of a notary public is to, among other things, authenticate the execution of public documents. However, there have been instances where a notary has gone further and offered advice or legal assistance to those signing documents. New regulations passed by the Massachusetts legislature in October, 2016 now explicitly prohibit these and other acts by a notary public unless he or she is also an attorney. Attorney Rhonda Duddy has explained the changes in an article that is available on our website under the Publications tab at http://www.perkinslawpc.com/index.php/publications-2/newsletters.
Daniel comes to us with four years of legal experience in the Bankruptcy, Foreclosure, Small Claims and Document Review sectors. He attended Villanova Law School in Pennsylvania, earning his JD in 2012. Prior to that, Daniel went to Boston College where he was a member of the swimming and diving team. He lives in Medford, MA and will be assisting Managing Partner Rob Anctil with Real Estate work and David Chenelle with Bankruptcy among other matters.
CAI successfully amended H.R. 1301 from its original language, securing a compromise that permitted HAM radio in associations, but required prior approval by the association and protected association architectural prerogatives. The legislation was opposed by Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) both in its original and amended forms and this opposition prevented Senate approval of the compromise legislation. In the 115th Congress, Sen. Nelson is expected to continue in his leadership position as Ranking Minority Member of the Senate Commerce Committee, which has jurisdiction over legislation and statutes concerning federal communications policy. Sen. Nelson was instrumental in forcing proponents of H.R. 1301 to negotiate with CAI, but in the end opted to oppose any legislative action on H.R. 1301.


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Trailblazer Clarence Williams III
Clarence Williams III has passed away. Does anyone not know him? I can't imagine you watched TV and didn't know him. THE MOD SQUAD made him famous and aired from 1968 to 1973 on ABC before going on to syndication where millions like me saw it for the first time. They did a TV movie in 1979.with the cast. THE MOD SQUAD was kind of like an early 21 JUMP STREET. Three kids are undercover police. There's Linc (Clarence), Julie (Peggy Lipton) and Pete (Michael Cole). There was a really awful film made not that long ago (1999). Claire Danes starred in the Julie part. She was not the only problem with the film but she was a big part of it. She's too earnest and too straight forward. Julie worked in the show because Peggy was spiritual and kind and caring. Claire can't project those qualities onscreen.
The show was a detective show but way ahead of it's time by having a female co-star and an African-American male co-star. (Pete was White.) They worked as a team and Nichelle Nichols was playing Uhura beginning in 1966, so was Clarence playing Linc starting in 1968. When he started playing Linco, Diahann Carroll was starting her run on JULIA (1968 to 1971). These were landmark moments and Clarence is a big part of that history.
THE NEW YORK POST notes:
Clarence Williams III, who broke new ground as "hippie" Detective Linc Hayes on "The Mod Squad" from 1968 to 1973, has died after a battle with colon cancer. He was 81.
Williams passed away Friday at his home in Los Angeles, his manager Allan Mindel confirmed in a statement Sunday.
Born Aug. 21, 1939, in New York City, the veteran talent got his big break on Broadway. He earned a Tony nod as best featured actor for his stellar work in 1964's "Slow Dance on the Killing Ground," launching a career that spanned five decades onstage and in television and film.
Although best known for his TV work in "The Mod Squad," Williams III also had scene-stealing roles in a pair of big-screen cult classics: He played Prince's flawed father — the guy who inspired "When Doves Cry" — in 1984's "Purple Rain," and played way against type as flamboyant drug lord Samson Simpson in Dave Chappelle's cult classic stoner comedy "Half Baked" in 1998.
CNN has an embarrassingly minor article on him but I'll pull this from it:
Williams was born in New York City on August 21, 1939, according to the statement.
He began his career in a production of "Dark of the Moon," and appeared on Broadway in "The Great Outdoors."
His performance in "Slow Dance on the Killing Ground" won him a Theatre World Award and a Tony nomination, the statement said.
Along with his theatre performances, Williams also starred in several shows and movies, including: "52 Pick-Up," "Against the Wall," "Reindeer Games," "Purple Rain," "The General's Daughter," "American Gangster," "Half Baked" and "Lee Daniels' The Butler."
Monday, June 7, 2021. Robert Pether really isn't the face Iraq wants to show to the world while they the Iraqi government tries to increase foreign investment, and much more.
Starting with Iraq.
وزير الخارجية فؤاد حسين: بحثنا العلاقات الثنائية بين العراق والدنمارك ودعوة شركاتها للاستثمار في العراق
4:12 AM · Jun 6, 2021
The Tweet above notes that Fuad Hussein, Iraq's Minister of Foreign Affairs, met with his Danish counterpart to discuss relations between Iraq and Denmark and how Danish companies could invest in Iraq. Do business with Iraq?
DessyMac responds:
Not going to happen if you continue to arrest key engineers UNLAWFULLY on projects that are running smoothly. Robert Pether's expertise is specialised buildings. After Central bank of Iraq he was going to build a hospital in Iraq. 60 days. No charges. Not safe! #freerobertpether
Australian citizen Robert Pether has apparently been abandoned by his own country which does nothing to object to his imprisonment in Iraq. (The Australian Embassy staff didn't even meet with Pether until May 3rd, 26 days after he was imprisoned.) It's now been over forty days that he's been held in a prison with no charge (they say they are holding him for "questioning"). His appeal for bail was denied on May 11th. He was told by his own government that it was safe to go to Baghdad for a meeting. He showed up at the meeting but there was no meeting. Instead, he was hauled off to an Iraqi prison. Earlier this month THE IRISH EXAMINER noted:
Robert Pether was arrested and detained on April 7 in what his wife, Desree, believes is some form of contractual dispute, involving his employer, over the building of a new Central Bank building in Iraq, reports
@aranliathroid
'Everyone is starting to crumble': Wife's appeal over engineer detained in Baghdad
State urged to intervene as man being held without charge for a month over a 'contractual dispute' involving his employe
While Australia has done little to nothing, Irish politicians have lodged public objections. One example is Senator Eugene Murphy:
I again raised the case of Robert Pether in the Seanad this week. I am asking the Irish Government and
@simoncoveney
to assist in a bid to have Mr Pether released from Iraq. His wife Desree and their children are Irish citizens living in Elphin for the past number of years.
10:48 AM · May 11, 2021
Robert Pether's wife Desree is Irish. She spoke with THE JOE FINNEGAN SHOW last month. Christopher Knaus (GUARDIAN) speaks with Robert and Desree's oldest son Flynn:
Flynn said it had hit the family hard.
"I feel like it's criminal what they did," he said. "It's downright inhumane the way they've been treating him, given he has worked tirelessly around the clock to deliver the project."
Flynn is currently preparing for his university entrance exams in Ireland, something that brings its own enormous stress. Usually, his father would be there to support him. They were close and spoke daily, often about university and Flynn's future.
But he has managed to speak to his father behind bars just once during the ordeal, for about 30 seconds.
"As soon as he knew that I was on the line, he was just apologising, saying 'Sorry I can't make it to graduation, sorry I can't get to your birthday, I will make it up to you, I promise,'" he said.
"I said to him, 'It's not going anywhere without you, and it's all being recorded anyway. You're not missing out.'"
Robert's wife Desree has previously told the Guardian that, prior to travelling to Baghdad for the meeting, her husband sought advice from the Australian embassy. She says he was advised there would be little risk in going to the meeting.
The 46-year-old man is having problems with dizziness and, due to COVID restrictions, has had difficulties receiving appropriate medical care. This morning, Brittany Chain (DAILY MAIL) reports:
'I just want my dad home,' Mr Pether's 18-year-old son Flynn told Daily Mail Australia.
'He did nothing but work hard and help [Iraq].'
Flynn is in his final year of school and trying to juggle the workload with the stress of wondering whether his dad is alive and safe each day.
Up until this ordeal, he'd planned to study engineering at university so he could work in the Middle East like his father.
'He was making a real difference,' Flynn said.
Given the pressures of the last two months, Flynn is leaning toward deferring his degree for next year to take some time to reassess his ambitions and plans.
The only contact Flynn has been able to have with his dad was one quick phone call and a letter for his 18th birthday, which was passed on through the embassy in Baghdad.
But he had to fight hard just to get that.
For the first 19 days of his detention, Mr Pether spent his days in solitary confinement and had just two hours' freedom to speak with a lawyer.
In total, the family have spoken with him just five times in the 61 days since he was arrested.
'It's an absolute nightmare,' Mr Pether's wife Desree said. 'He feels massively betrayed.'
Ms Pether understands that her husband's detention is a blatant attempt to extract money from his employer.
She claims Mr Pether's lawyer has been told 'all of this can go away' if their demands are met regarding getting out of paying for a four year contract.
'They're blatant about it. It's not even hidden. They were literally tricked into the country and then trapped and are blatantly being held as pawns,' Ms Pether said, adding her husband remains 'terrified' about what could happen next.
As more and more people learn of what's happened to Robert Pether, let's see how willing they are to do business with Iraq. It's a corrupt government.
In other news Raja Razek and Tara John (CNN) report:
Two drones were shot down over an Iraqi airbase housing US troops and Iraqi and coalition forces on Sunday, the Iraqi military said in a statement.
The air defense system at al-Asad Airbase, one of the largest and oldest military bases in Iraq, intercepted and shot down the drones, the statement said.
Several hours before, the Baghdad Diplomatic Support Center (BDSC) in the Iraqi capital was attacked by one rocket round, a spokesman for the US-led coalition, Wayne Marotto, said in a tweet. "The rocket impacted near the BDSC and caused no injuries or damage. The attack is under investigation," he added.
ALJAZEERA adds:
On May 8, an attack by an unmanned aerial surveillance system targeted the Ain al-Asad base, but it caused no injuries.
Since the start of this year, there have been 39 attacks against US interests in Iraq.
The vast majority have been bombs against logistics convoys, while 14 were rocket attacks, some of them claimed by pro-Iran factions, who aim to pressure Washington into withdrawing all their troops.
Staying with violence, thug and despot Recep Tayyip Erdogan spent last week threatening to attack a United Nations refugee camp in Iraq. On Saturday, he carried out his threat. AFP reports:
Three civilians were killed on Saturday in a Turkish drone attack on a refugee camp in northern Iraq in an area Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently threatened to "clean up", a Kurdish lawmaker said.
Rashad Galali, a Kurdish MP from Makhmur, told journalists the strike targeted "a kindergarten near a school" in the UN-supported camp that houses Kurdish refugees from Turkey.
"Three civilians were killed and two wounded," he said.
The thug has attempted to silence criticism by insisting that a 'terrorist' was killed. He says nothing of the innocent civilians. He never acknowledges the many civilians that are dead because of attacks he has ordered. Never. This is not a new development. This is part of a historical attacks carried out against the Kurds. Of the camp, THE NATIONAL explains:
Set up by the United Nations at the end of the 1990s to host Turkish Kurds, the Makhmur camp was hit on Saturday by a Turkish drone strike that left three civilians dead, a Kurdish official from the camp told AFP.
Ankara regularly accuses the PKK of running the Makhmur camp, which is 250 kilometres south of the Turkish border.
Turkey regularly conducts cross-border operations and air raids on PKK rear bases in Iraq – moves that have strained relations between the two neighbours – launching its latest offensive in April.
The attack is outrageous and it needs to be condemned. What took place was illegal -- buried in a REUTERS report on the attack:
U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield visited Ankara last week and said she told officials that "any attack targeting civilians at Makhmour refugee camp would be a violation of international and humanitarian law".
What they have done is illegal. NRT reports:
Iraqi President Barham Salih on Sunday (June 6) condemned Turkey's deadly airstrike on the Makhmour refugee camp the previous day, calling it a "dangerous escalation."
According to a local official, three civilians were killed near the camp in a drone strike conducted by the Turkish military, which justified its actions as necessary to combat the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
In a statement released by his office, Salih said that "Turkish incursions and violations of Iraqi sovereignty that destabilize security and threaten citizens' lives should be put an end."
"The recent Turkish airstrike near Makhmour camp in northern Iraq is a dangerous escalation that threatens citizens' lives and refugees, and is contrary to international and humanitarian law," he added.
Journalist Rebaz Majeed offers this thread on Twitter:
Turkey's military operations, taking Iraqi Kurdistan's territories and building military bases have no reason, but the country's expansion policy and their long term interest in Misak-ı Millî. PKK is just an excuse. Mr. Erdogan himself has confessed this.
4:54 PM · Jun 6, 2021
In a video, in which he talks to some young people, he says that they builds military bases in Iraq for protecting the Turkmen. When Turkey deployed the army on the border, in 2003 & 2017 to prevent Kurdish autonomy & independence. PKK was not an excuse back then.
On a regional level, Turkey's military operations in Libya and Syria is another gesture that PKK is not the only reason for Turkey to take more territories than what she had within the borders of Today's Turkey.
However, by using PKK card, the country has successfully persuaded everyone that what she does in Iraqi Kurdistan is a legitimate war and she has to do it for protecting its national security. KRG and Iraq are too weak to prevent this.
There are other reasons that KRG and Baghdad do not take crucial steps to prevent this. Such as, Turkey's use of water card against Iraq, previous agreements between the two countries that allow Turkey to do this &economical ties (especially oil) between Ankara and Erbil, ect.
Turkey's drone war in the last several years have changed everything. Technology in general is not in the favor of guerrilla wars. Because the states have more access to these technologies, and as much as it goes, the war between states & guerrilla groups became more unbalanced.
That is why Iraqi Kurdistan (the territories PKK has been controlling for decades) is more suitable for them to stay, considering the fact that guerrilla war is all about hit and hide. However, this causes many destruction in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region.
While KDP accuses PKK of doing nothing but allowing Turkey to gain more and more territories, PKK accuses KDP of inviting, helping and coordination with Turkey in their war against the guerrillas.
While the concern of all sides are reasonable, we should once remember that war is always the simple but wrong answer. The efforts for continuing and waging another war leave nothing but more destruction in the region. Peaceful dialogue is the key to end this.
While a war is going on, seeking peaceful dialogues 2 settle the conflicts doesn't sound realistic. But, this is not related 2 Iraqi Kurdistan alone, but also to Kurdish question in Turkey and Rojava's case in Syria. The developments indicate that we are too far from this, sadly.
Kat's "Kat's Korner: Chase Rice serves up a masterpiece" went up earlier this morning reviewing Chase Rice's THE ALBUM and her "Kat's Korner: Liz Phair shines on SOBERISH" also went up this morning reviewing Liz Phair's SOBERISH.
BEYOND THE TRAILER
Diabetes and ESCAPE FROM WITCH MOUNTAIN and RETURN...
Leave Kevin Space alone
Movies, LUPIN, THE BLACKLIST, DISNEY's homophobia
The frightmare that was Jonathan Demme
Bad news for MANIFEST
Sam Worthington, Diana Ross
LOKI really sucks -- look at the reviews
LOKI sucks
BOB HEARTS ABISHOLA
Summer TV
SUPERSTORE was not a great -- or even good -- show
TV, when to take a pass on commenting?


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→Basic List Prep in Excel – Splitting A Full Name into components
Basic List Prep in Excel – Splitting A Full Name into components
While it's easier to import data to Dynamics CRM using the data templates, prepping that data can take a little work. One of the most common things to deal with is splitting a "Full Name" from a source file, which needs to be imported to CRM as "First Name", "Middle Name", "Last Name".
Let's assume the source file uses the format of "[Last Name], [First Name] [Middle Initial]". This makes it just a little too complex to use the Text-to-Columns feature in Excel (but note, if you're dealing with a basic "Last, First" format, keep it simple and use Text-to Columns).
Easy enough to do by hand…but what a hassle if you're doing a thousand records or more.
Our solution? Build 3 simple formulas to handle that manual work.
Looks like gibberish, right? Read on for an explanation
Like Billy Blaze, I find it's easiest if we break things down.
Start with the Last Name (Column C)
We know that the last name starts at the left of the cell:
=LEFT(A2,FIND(",",A2)-1)
English: Grab some characters from the left-hand side of A2. How many? One character behind the comma, so go find the comma in A2, then go back one character.
Pluck out the First Name (Column D)
This part is a little trickier, but not too much. We can't use the left() function any more since it's in the middle.
=MID(A2,LEN(C2)+3,LEN(A2)-LEN(C2)-4)
English: Grab some characters from the middle of A2, starting 3 characters after the last name. How many should we grab? The total length of the Full Name, minus the length of the Last Name, minus four characters (2 spaces, 1 comma, and 1 Middle Initial)
Grab the Middle Initial (Column E)
This one's the easiest to decipher…
=RIGHT(A2,1)
English: Grab some characters from the right-hand side of A2. Just 1 this time.
With those three formulas, here's what we end up with:
Looks much prettier now.
The rabbit hole goes deeper
When you're sent a file to work with, it's pretty rare that names fall into a perfect little "Last, First MI" format. There's a few ways to deal with this. I've put together a workbook with this and a few other examples of splitting up full name data, which you can feel free to thieve from me.
First MI Last
Last, First [optional MI]
First [optional MI] Last
These cover a few different methods for carving up the data, but are by no means exhaustive.
Note, it's important to know your data that you're starting with. Take some time to ask some questions: Are all of the names in the same format? How should a record be handled if the name is missing? Is there funky CaPITAlizAtion that needs to be dealt with? Does anyone have two middle initials, or maybe a space in the middle of their name? Picking through these issues is often the most time-consuming part of prepping a list of data.
I'm always tempted to try to write some "super formula" that is so smart it can handle any case you run across…but remember, if there are only twenty records where there are two middle initials or a space in their first name, it's often quicker to do those twenty by hand and use a simpler formula to help out with the rest. You've been warned 🙂
Once you've split the name into component parts, you can copy/paste these columns into a CRM data template and import the results!
Dynamics 365 Workflow Foundations – Implement This Podcast
CRM 2015 – Quick Public Service Announcement For Administrators
Eating our own dog food – Microsoft Cloud Services
Talk with your CRM Administrator Soon: Are your CRM 2011 plug-ins ready for this year's scheduled application updates?


text:
at Laura Walker
Laura S. Walker
Obediah's Okefenok
Okefenokee
Swamp Park
Southern Forest World
Trembling Earth Recreation Complex
Train Watching
The crown jewel of the Ware County Recreation Department, the 123-acre facility features three complexes within walking distance of each other, and surrounded by ample parking. Building on the Trembling Earth Sports Complex began in the early 2000's and has been completed in stages as funds became available. Your team is sure to appreciate the 12 tournament quality fields for play: the youth baseball complex with its six fields; the adult softball complex, with four fields; one full-sized football field; and one multi-purpose soccer field.
in 90 years
Young families have fun where the once famous 'Shoeless Joe Jackson' played here in Waycross, in 1925 when he played for the Waycross Coastliners Team.
Joe wouldn't recognize the place with all our modern features that makes the Trembling Earth Recreation Complex one of the finest facilities in Georgia.
Waycross Weather
For the next 4 days
wind: 5mph ESE
Waycross Convention & Visitors Bureau Authority located at:
417 Pendleton Street,
e. tourism@waycrossga.com
Additional Info & Links
Historic Downtown Walking Tour Brochure
s Portable fencing allows these fields to be re-sized for younger players who aren't ready "to go the full distance" yet. Practice fields in each complex help teammates work on their moves and strategies. For those not old enough to join the sports teams, the children's playground serves as a healthy alternative to organized play, or take a power-walk around the ½-mile track that encircles a 10-acre pond.
The baseball/softball arenas' covered dugouts have communication systems wired from the field to the score tower; each field also has its own state-of-the-art scoreboard with timers and a public-address system. Cheering for the home team during the big game can work up an appetite, so head down to the full-line concession stands and the eating area, where you'll also find ADA-compliant restrooms that ensure everyone's comfort. At the end of the day, there's also a large variety of locally-owned and franchised restaurants, hotels and shops.
The Trembling Earth Recreation Complex continues to expand to meet our thriving community's needs for recreation and the solid relationships that result from it. Recent developments have included a gymnasium building which also has conference rooms, classrooms and the Ware County Recreation Department's office.
Attraction Links
Laura S. Walker State Park
Okefenokee Heritage Center
Okefenokee Swamp Park
The Lakes at Laura Walker
The City of Waycross
Ware County Government
mobile compatible website design, & seo by servacreative.com


Welcome to the Beijing Travel Guide, your online travel specialist. Beijing Hotels searches the web for the best deals for luxury hotels to budget and low cost hotels in Beijing, as well as apartments, car rentals & golf. We currently offer a wide selection of accommodation in Beijing, Hotel Guide offers hotel reservations with discounts up to 75% of regular rack rates for almost all hotels, apartments & resorts in Beijing.
As a leading online hotels and travel guide, the volume of hotel reservations that we send to our selected hotels, apartments & resorts in Beijing means that we have negotiated the most competitive rates for our customers. We offer extensive information on all of our hotels, apartments & resorts in Beijing, providing you with all the information that you need in order to fully research and plan your holiday in Beijing with complete confidence. All you have to do is fill in your dates and choose your best price which suits your personal travel accomodation needs.
With a stay at Beijing Baifuyi Hotel in Beijing (Middle Chaoyang), you'll be convenient to Yashow Market and CCTV Headquarters. This hotel is within close proximity of Workers Stadium and National Agricultural Exhibition Center.


For more than 25 years Water-Jel as the world market leader have been offering their tried and trusted Pre-Hospital burn care products for the Pre-Hospital treatment of burn injury victims.
Front line EMS, Burn care professionals, and burn victims alike have long benefited from this experience in every area of application for burn injuries. Water-Jel has become a firm friend of the Emergency Medical Services, Fire Services, Sea Air Rescue, all areas of the Military Armed forces, Industry, Catering, Formula One, and motor racing world wide, for the management of burn injury victims.
The product range covers front line emergencies and first aid as well as end user sales in drug stores or pharmacies. Brands like Water-Jel burn dressings, Burn Jel EU, Sun Burn Jel or Muscle Jel are well known to our satisfied end users in markets around the world.
New to the market is our radio oncology treatment system, R1R2, which is our answer to the problem of treating the side effects, which can occur on the skin during and after radiation treatment.


text:
'We're passionate about the work of The BRIT School': YouTube Music funds studios for students
February 22nd 2019 at 12:33PM
The BRIT Trust has secured the support of YouTube Music to fund new music studios at the BRIT School.
It follows YouTube's high-profile sponsorship of the BRIT Awards. YouTube Music was the offical app and YouTube was the BRITs' official international livestream partner. The BRITs raises money for the BRIT Trust.
Created with support from YouTube Music, the YouTube Music Studios at The BRIT School will help the next generation of young London creatives.
The YouTube Music Studios will involve a complete refurbishment of The BRIT School's existing TV, film and media production suite. It will feature state-of-the-art equipment that will include a 16-channel audio desk, three studio cameras, playback screens, and monitors.
The YouTube Music Studios at The BRIT School will open their doors later this year. Students will be able to use the space, facilities and equipment to create videos. YouTube Music will also provide mentoring and masterclasses.
Azi Eftekhari, head of music content partnerships, UK and Ireland, said: "We're passionate about the work that The BRIT school does, and we've been lucky to be able to support them for a number of years across several partnerships at Google. YouTube Music has seen first-hand the power that video can have in transforming the lives of emerging musical artists. We are committed to fostering the next generation of talent in the UK and are so pleased to be working with The BRIT Trust on the launch of the YouTube Music BRIT Studios. We look forward to seeing the success of future students from the programme and the impact they have on the world of music in the UK and beyond."
Stuart Worden, The BRIT School principal, said: "This is an exciting opportunity to have world class facilities that will help train our students to work in a creative sector that is growing at a rapid rate. The BRIT School has always celebrated new voices in music, performing arts, TV, film and digital arts. This major refurbishment will allow us to develop the talent of thousands of creative artists for years to come."
The BRIT Trust has distributed £21 million to a range of charities, including The BRIT School, East London Arts and Music (ELAM) and Nordoff Robbins music therapy.
John Craig OBE, chairman of The BRIT Trust, said: "One of the challenges of running The BRIT School is ensuring that the students have access to the latest equipment and technology. This incredible support from YouTube ensures that our TV studios and radio suites on the School's site in Croydon can now replicate the professional world as this is critical for them if they are to succeed when they leave and go onto jobs in the industry."
Since 2017, YouTube has also supported East London Arts & Music as part of its aim to foster the next generation of music talent.
youtube,
Stuart Worden,
Brit School,
BRIT Trust,
Azi Eftekhari,
john craig,
BRIT Awards 2019,
Domino GM Chris Scott on how radio, TikTok and Harry Styles aligned for Grammy nominees Wet Leg
BRIT Awards 2023 reveals details of multi-platform nominations livestream
BRIT Trust Diaries: Rich Clarke, head of War Child Records
Five years of Accelerator: Sarah Mhamdi on the impact of the MMF and YouTube management programme


text:
Hong Kong urges property developers to cut rent for retailers
HONG KONG — Hong Kong's financial chief urged landlords and property developers on Friday to offer rent subsidies to retailers and food and beverage businesses suffering after four months of protests that have dented tourism and consumer spending.
The comments followed a similar call for relief for businesses by the city's chief executive, Carrie Lam, this week.
On Tuesday, Lam said the number of tourists to Hong Kong in the first week of October, when China celebrated its National Day holiday, plummeted more than 50% from a year ago.
The "Golden Week" break is normally a boon for Hong Kong businesses, with visitors from mainland China arriving in large numbers.
But official data last week showed Hong Kong's August retail sales were the worst on record, falling 23% from a year earlier.
"We hereby urge landlords and property developers to actively consider launching rent reduction schemes to assist the retail sector during this severe time," Financial Secretary Paul Chan told a news conference.
He said MTR Corp, which runs the city's metro system and is about 75% owned by the government, was offering rent adjustments to some small- and medium-sized stores that had been affected.
Some in the industry have said that landlords are not doing enough to help ease the pain.
"I understand that property developers may want to adopt stimulus measures to boost the economy and sales, but based on the situation in our society, stimulus measures are less effective to relieve our pressure," said Annie Yau Tse, chairman of Hong Kong Retail Management Association.
"To assist the retail sector during this severe time, we think the most effective means would be to cut rents or provide us a sufficient rent-free period."
Sun Hung Kai Properties, the city's biggest property developer by value, called on the government to introduce relief measures for big and small landlords, and to work with industry to help ease the situation.
The developer said it would provide case-by-case assistance to its tenants.
Henderson Land and Hysan Development, both major shopping mall landlords, said they had offered some tenants temporary rental adjustments and launched promotions to attract more customers. (Reporting by Felix Tam and Clare Jim Editing by Karishma Singh, Robert Birsel)


Hyatt Hotels Corporation has announced the opening of Hyatt Centric Gran Via Madrid. The 159-room hotel is located in the heart of Madrid along the vibrant Gran Via.
Marriott Hotels has debuted in Voronezh with the opening of Voronezh Marriott Hotel. Situated in the south of Russia on the Voronezh River, the city is recognised as an important centre of culture, science and industry in the region.
Victory House, London Leicester Square – MGallery by Sofitel has opened, offering a cosy escape in the heart of the vibrant West End.
InterContinental Hotels Group has opened Holiday Inn Express Moscow - Paveletskaya. Located in the thriving business district, the hotel is a short walk from Paveletskaya Station and the Aeroexpress train (offering a direct connect to Domodedovo airport), making arrival and departure simple for hotel guests.
After a star-studded launch party, The Trafalgar St. James is officially open. Located in the heart of London, this iconic Trafalgar Square hotel has undergone a complete transformation and is set to be one of the hottest hotels in the capital, with a major emphasis on being a food and drink destination for Londoners and international visitors alike.
Hampton by Hilton has announced the opening of its latest property, Hampton by Hilton Edinburgh West End. The hotel is the first in Scotland's capital and joins four more which are already open in the country.
AccorHotels has made two new Mercure signings, the Mercure Warwick Honiley Court (Warwickshire), and the Mercure Walsall Barons Court (West Midlands). Both hotels have been signed under franchise agreements with the Talash Hotels Group.
InterContinental Hotels Group has opened Holiday Inn Express Cologne City Centre, the largest Holiday Inn Express in Europe. The newly opened property boasts 323 rooms all featuring the next generation Holiday Inn Express design which balances home comforts with smart design features.


Could you please help on this .When i am trying to upload files,getting below error.But, errors are not getting frequently.
for more details ,please check attachment.
I believe this issue is not related to file upload but its related to memory.
Can you check this issue is there on other devices too or not.
If on other devices also its causing issue, then can you check your server configurations and available memory ?


Distance from Kārsiyāng to Jarwal is 669 kilometers. This air travel distance is equal to 416 miles.
The air travel (bird fly) shortest distance between Kārsiyāng and Jarwal is 669 km= 416 miles.
If you travel with an airplane (which has average speed of 560 miles) from Karsiyang to Jarwal, It takes 0.74 hours to arrive.
Jarwal is located in India.


Anxious and stressed, many Australian parents feel overwhelmed with the worries of day-to-day life. But our children – despite youth and innocence – share the same problems.
Sadly, one in four Australian kids say they worry about the future constantly. In frank and funny, but sometimes heartbreaking conversations, children and teenagers aged 12 to 19 talk about the pressures they face for a news program to air this week.
Children from all backgrounds talk about their hopes, dreams and fears on ABC TV's Four Corners and list bullying, peer pressure and family break-ups among the reasons they're so stressed out.
"Doing well in school, getting a good job and providing for a family, if I have one," says Zach, 12, when talking about his biggest concerns for the future.
The program also explores the rise of self-harm and attempted suicide by talking to those who have made it to the other side.
Ethan, 15, tells how he felt the need to lose weight and the fit bodies of his friends made him feel "like cr*p" about his own.
"When looking at like, stuff online, I see lots of pressures from other people to do what they're doing, be like them, but then I have to calm myself down and think – wait, I'm unique, I'm myself," Teresa, 16, says.
The Our Kids episode will air on Four Corners on Monday, November 16 at 8.30pm on the ABC.
For more information and to find support, visit Beyond Blue.