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[10.03.16] Third Parties and the Left: Problems and Prospects
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This panel discussion was hosted by the Platypus Affiliated Society at the School of the Art Institute at Chicago on October 3, 2016.
Lenny Brody, Justice Party
Bill Pelz, director of the Institute of Working Class History
Mimi Soltysik, Socialist Party USA
Panel Description
Electoral politics are a longstanding problem for the U.S. left. In recent decades, a number of parties have formed as an alternative to the Democratic Party: the Labor Party, the Green Party, and now, the Justice Party. However, these parties risk becoming little more than networks of activists or pressure groups on the Democratic Party, and it still remains unclear whether a serious electoral challenge to the Democratic Party is possible. Many progressives blame the "first-past-the-post" structure of U.S. elections, contra labour-friendly parliamentary systems; yet others insist that this procedural focus is misplaced. Leninists charge some quarters of the Left with misunderstanding the proper relationship of the party to the state; but for many, it remains unclear how State and Revolution bears upon the present. Most activists grant the desirability of a viable party to the left of the Democrats, but why exactly such a party is desirable-- to win reforms? to spread emancipatory consciousness?-- is contested as well. These are old questions for the American left-- as old as Henry George, Daniel De Leon, and the 1930s American Labor Party, perhaps the high point of independent electoral politics in the U.S. This panel will investigate several contemporary approaches to electoral politics to draw out the theories that motivate Leftist third parties; it will also ask how the historical achievements and failures of third parties bear upon the present.
How does the present election represent an opportunity for the development of a third party? In what ways have Bernie Sanders, Donald Trump, Jill Stein, and Gary Johnson each helped develop a window of opportunity for a third party? In what ways might these figures be responsible for miseducating, depoliticizing, or simply misdirecting potential allies?
What conditions would a Clinton or Trump administration produce for the left? How would each represent a challenge to the Left?
How might a third party avoid simply becoming either an instrument for pressuring the Democratic Party to the Left or a mere recruiting tool for activist and sectarian organizations? In other words: what are the practical and theoretical obstacles to the development of the Left beyond the default form of activity that have characterized it since the mid-20th century?
While we take for granted that a third party would have to distinguish itself from the two major parties, how could a third party attempt to draw from voters from both the Democrats and the Republicans?
The rise of progressivism and socialism in the late 19th/early 20th century defined every attempt at the development of a third party in the 20th century. How are progressive and socialist politics distinct and/or related? What role would each play in the development of a mass third party for the 21st century?
The Politics of Work, Chicago, 11.5.13
A panel event held on November 5th, 2013, at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
It is generally assumed that Marxists and other Leftists have the political responsibility to support reforms for the improvement of the welfare of workers. Yet, leading figures from the Marxist tradition-- such as Lenin, Luxemburg, and Trotsky-- also understood that such reforms would broaden the crisis of capitalism and potentially intensify contradictions that could adversely impact the immediate conditions of the workers. For instance, full employment, while being a natural demand from the standpoint of all workers' interests, also threatens the conditions of capitalist production [which rely on a surplus of available labor], thereby potentially jeopardizing the system of employment altogether. In light of such apparent paradoxes, this panel seeks to investigate the politics of work from Leftist perspectives. It will attempt to provoke reflection on and discussion of the ambiguities and dilemmas of the politics of work by including speakers from divergent perspectives, some of whom seek after the immediate abolition of labor and others of whom seek to increase the availability of employment opportunities. It is hoped that this conversation will deepen the understanding of contemporary problems faced by the Left in its struggles to construct a politics adequate to the self-emancipation of the working class.
Bill Barclay
Democratic Socialists of America/Chicago Political Economy Group
Lenny Brody
Justice Party/Network for Revolutionary Change
Leon Fink
Professor of labor history, University of Illinois at Chicago
Interview with Jason Wright and Lenny Brody on Third Parties and the Left
Electoral politics are a longstanding problem for the U.S. left. In recent decades, a number of parties have formed as an alternative to the Democratic Party: the Labor Party, the Green Party, and now, the Justice Party. However, these parties risk becoming little more than networks of activists or pressure groups on the Democratic Party, and it still remains unclear whether a serious electoral challenge to the Democratic Party is possible. Radical Minds is pleased to air an edited recording of a panel organized by the Platypus Affiliated Society, which investigates several contemporary approaches to electoral politics and draws out the theories that motivate Leftist third parties. The major speakers, Lenny Brody of the Justice Party and Jason Wright of the International Bolshevik Tendency, consider how the historical achievements and failures of third parties bear upon the present.
Aired on April 10th, 2012 on the Radical Minds radio show.
Third Parties and the Left: Problems and Prospects
Electoral politics are a longstanding problem for the U.S. left. In recent decades, a number of parties have formed as an alternative to the Democratic Party: the Labor Party, the Green Party, and now, the Justice Party. However, these parties risk becoming little more than networks of activists or pressure groups on the Democratic Party, and it still remains unclear whether a serious electoral challenge to the Democratic Party is possible.
Many progressives blame the "first-past-the-post" structure of U.S. elections, contra labour-friendly parliamentary systems; yet others insist that this procedural focus is misplaced. Leninists charge some quarters of the Left with misunderstanding the proper relationship of the party to the state; but for many, it remains unclear how State and Revolution bears upon the present. Most activists grant the desirability of a viable party to the left of the Democrats, but why exactly such a party is desirable-- to win reforms? to spread emancipatory consciousness?-- is contested as well.
These are old questions for the American left-- as old as Henry George, Daniel De Leon, and the 1930s American Labor Party, perhaps the high point of independent electoral politics in the U.S. This panel will investigate several contemporary approaches to electoral politics to draw out the theories that motivate Leftist third parties; it will also ask how the historical achievements and failures of third parties bear upon the present.
Nikil Saval is an editor at n+1, and a co-editor of Occupy!: Scenes from Occupied America (Verso, 2011). He is currently writing a history of office design and white-collar work.
Lenny Brody is an activist, student of political change, printing industry worker, and descendant of union organizers. He fought with Martin Luther King, Jr. in the civil rights movement and refused induction during the Vietnam War. Mr. Brody has been active in local elections and in the Dennis Kucinich campaigns. He is a member of the Justice Party National Steering Committee and is working to build an independent political movement that will empower the victims of the current economic crisis.
Jason Wright, a contributor to the IBT's journal, 1917, began his career on the left in support of the Democratic Socialists of America. Breaking with DSA in opposition to the 1991 US invasion of Iraq, he spent several years in the Revolutionary Workers League. Disenchanted with the RWL's mindless hyper-activism, Wright undertook a study of Trotskyism. He concluded that the Revolutionary Tendency of the Socialist Workers Party represented the continuation of Trotskyism and joined the IBT.
Katie Robbins is an activist and member of Healthcare-NOW! NYC and Healthcare for the 99%, a working group of Occupy Wall Street. Katie was national organizer with Healthcare-NOW! from 2008 - 2011 during the national healthcare debate. With doctors, nurses, and other advocates, she was arrested in May 2009 in the Senate Finance Committee asking for single-payer healthcare to be considered as a solution to the healthcare crisis when it was systematically ignored by policy makers.


Entrepreneurs have found out that social media sites might just be the strongest marketing technique that this new century has provided in business promotion. Marketing on social media sites exposes your brand to people all over the world. This increase of potential customers allows you to market to a wider audience when trying to get out your business message.
Tweet a variety of material when you're generating Twitter tweets for any of your plans involved with media marketing. Tweet tips or suggestions related to your type of business. By using these tweets along with the ones used to promote your business, you will notice your followers to be more able to hold interest in what you're tweeting.
While you may not know what you are doing at first within social media marketing, fake confidence until you get the hang of it. Have knowledge about what your competition utilizes for their particular social media marketing tactics, and copy them until you discover what works best for you. Search for your competitors' social media web pages, so you can evaluate their content, including the types of sales and promotions they offer.
If you need help doing social media marketing, don't be embarrassed or afraid to ask. This will help you to tap into the expertise of some of the best designers and consultants in the business. This can be costly, but will be well worth the expense in the long run.
Add buttons to your social media profiles everywhere, as well as an RSS feed of your updates if you wish. The buttons should appear on all pages, profiles, blogs, emails and signatures. You should also interlink your social media sites.
Gain exposure by promoting your business through games on Facebook. Take advantage of the popularity of games on Facebook by developing an interesting game that showcases your product or service. Some well-known companies have been able to leverage Facebook's game functionality to create viral properties that attracted millions to their Facebook pages. You can have a professional game designer handle all the details, but try to come up with a great gaming idea yourself.
Before starting out with any social media promotion, it is best to thoroughly research all the different ways you advertise through social networking sites. Every social network is different and learning what makes them different can help you use each one properly. You may find that one particular site is best for attracting the target audience that you are seeking.
Add a tag when you post on twitter. Using hash tags makes your updates immediately available to your followers. Think carefully about your tag use. Identify specific groups that your intended demographic probably follows.
Be prepared for a certain amount of negative feedback. Although it is wonderful when followers appreciate your goods and services, you must also respond to any negative remarks. Instead of lashing out or ignoring negative postings, do what you can to turn unhappy customers into happy ones.
Stick with your social media marketing strategy. It takes time to build a network of followers and see the real benefits of social media marketing. Give yourself about a year before you expect a decent http://nobsimreviews.com/my-online-dream-biz-scam following that will provide you with all of the benefits of a really good social media marketing campaign.
Keep track of responses to your posts that are sent. Make adjustments to the timing of your Tweets as needed. If you use the services of automated messaging services, set it up so that your accounts sends out tweets at those times your followers will most likely already be on their accounts.
Thinking about starting a Facebook page for your business? Look at what your competition is doing. Steal their ideas, and abandon any unsuccessful strategies. Be sure that your page is appealing and unique.
Be active with your Facebook account. Pay attention to questions or comments posted on your wall. Quickly answer any questions and engage in the conversations on your page. This helps to create a sense of credibility and comfort with your product.
People like having the option to comment on your blog. This is doubly important if you give no other contact information on your blog. Comments should always be allowed, but you should moderate them whenever possible. Delete any nonconstructive negative comments, spam, or other offensive commentary.
Link your social media profile or blog with LinkedIn to improve its marketing efficiency. Putting a share button for LinkedIn on your blog allows you to reach a wider audience. Your followers can use that button to encourage others they know to read your blog, as well. LinkedIn has over 100 million users, so this can really improve your visit count.
Apply the advice from this article to help integrate your business into the world of modern day technology. Keep these tips handy any time you need advice on how best to integrate social networking into your existing business plan. You'll be surprised what a big difference social media will make for your business.


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Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg
Published under: Stoltenberg's 2nd Government
Publisher Office of the Prime Minister
Speech at ASEM Enlargement Ceremony
Laos, 5 November 2012
Speech/statement | Date: 05/11/2012
By Former Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg
Check against delivery
It is a great pleasure for me to be here today.
I would like to thank the Government of Laos for its hospitality and for hosting this important summit.
ASEM is shaping the future relations between Asia and Europe.
It has been a priority for Norway to become member.
Thank you for supporting our membership.
Norway is strongly engaged in the issues discussed in ASEM.
Our interests and activities in Asia build on our long history as a nation of seafarers.
Today, our ships are built in this region.
And more and more of their business is in Asia.
Even Norwegian oilrigs operate here.
Asia has seen tremendous economic growth in recent decades. Millions have been lifted out of poverty faster than ever before in recent history.
It's impressive.
Asia's growth is also benefitting the rest of the world through increased opportunities for trade and investments. Today, this region is a driving force in the global economy.
Norway strongly supports closer integration and cooperation between Europe and Asia.
Our involvement in Asia is steadily expanding. We are currently in the process of entering into a formal cooperation with ASEAN.
The Norwegian sovereign wealth fund has invested about 80 billion US dollars in Asian equities and fixed income holdings. That is a strong vote of confidence in the Asian economies.
We welcome the growing Asian interest in our policies on the High North, climate change, and energy.
The melting ice in the Arctic is of great concern. But it also gives rise to new opportunities.
The opening of the Arctic Sea Route offers tremendous opportunities for increased trade and cooperation. It reduces the sailing time between Europe and Asia by around 40 per cent. This will benefit both Europe and Asia.
Energy security is essential for economic development. Norway is the third largest energy exporter globally.
We have proven to be a reliable energy supplier – and will continue to be so in the future.
Increased energy consumption should not undermine sustainable development and international climate targets. Norway is looking forward to working with Asian countries on renewable energy and climate friendly technologies.
This summit is a great opportunity to exchange ideas and build new partnerships.
Let's get to work.
Norway new participant at Asia–Europe Summit
Speech at ASEM Summit, Economic and Financial Issues

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Top Games Ever
Five years ago Carl Johnson escaped from the pressures of life in Los Santos, San Andreas... a city tearing itself apart with gang trouble, drugs and corruption.
Four years have passed since the aftermath of Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, and a great tension now smolders throughout the ravaged world of Azeroth. As the battle-worn races begin to rebuild their shattered kingdoms, new threats, both ancient and ominous, arise to plague the world once again.
Engage in this saga set in the Golden Age of the Republic - over 4,000 years before the first Star Wars film, when both Jedi and Sith number in the thousands. With the Galaxy reeling from a recent conflict with the Dark Lords, the ongoing battle between the Jedi and the Sith rages on.
The PC version features enhanced 3D audio. Environmentally scaled and referenced from the player's perspective.
Deported to a harsh desert world, exiles have struggled for three thousand years to regain the stars. Now it's up to you to guide them home through a brutal empire bent on annihilation.
The game involves players creating and destroying various types of blocks in a three dimensional environment. The player takes an avatar that can destroy or create blocks, forming fantastic structures, creations and artwork across the various multiplayer servers in multiple game modes..
StarCraft II continues the epic saga of the Protoss, Terran, and Zerg. These three distinct and powerful races clash once again in the fast-paced real-time strategy sequel to the legendary original, StarCraft.
Reload, rev up and ride out. The new Tournament is faster, higher and meaner.
Master deep, tactical combat. Join up to 3 other players - but know that only one of you will have the chance to become a God.
A real-time strategy game set in World War II, Company of Heroes brings to life, in full cinematic detail, the greatest war mankind has ever known. Company of Heroes is built on Relic's next-generation Essence Engine and also utilizes the Havok Physics engine, delivering cinematic visual detail in a world completely driven by realistic physics.
New course lineup: Twelve detailed courses include Pebble Beach Golf Links, TPC of Scottsdale and Torrey Pines South. New effects: Feel the sun, the wind, the fog and the grass as you walk 18.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Blood and Wine
This expansion pack is an old-school add on with 20 hours of new adventures, where players will travel to the land of Toussaint.
Out of the Park Baseball 17
Step into the shoes of a team owner, GM, and/or field manager to own the future or rewrite the past of your favorite real-world club. Start a new career with 2016 Opening Day rosters of the real major or minor leagues, or span through 150 years of history and run any club from the past! Perform drafts, trades, scouting, waivers, team finances and personnel.
Galactic Civilizations II: Twilight of the Arnor
The galaxy is being consumed by the fires of war as we enter the final act of the Dread Lord saga. Galactic Civilizations II: Twilight of the Arnor is the second expansion pack to the award-winning PC strategy game, Galactic Civilizations II.
Unreal Tournament (1999)
The stakes are high. On the one hand, fame, fortune, glory; on the other hand, death.
Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri
Legendary designer Sid Meier presents the next evolution in strategy games, with the most addictive, compelling gameplay yet. Explore the alien planet that is your new home and uncover its myriad mysteries.
Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings is the sequel to the award-winning, best-selling real-time strategy game "Age of Empires." Age of Empires II spans a thousand years, from the fall of Rome through the Middle Ages in which players lead one of 13 civilizations into greatness. The game keeps the epic scope of Age of Empires' game play while evolving the combat and economic features.
Thief: The Dark Project
Sneak through the shadows of 12 treacherous missions including haunted cathedrals, subterranean ruins, and forbidding prisons, in a dark and sinister city. Stalk your prey on the quest for stolen goods with your blackjack, sword and an assortment of unique arrows.
Welcome to UNDERTALE. In this RPG, you control a human who falls underground into the world of monsters.
In Okami, the player takes the role of the mythical sun goddess Amaterasu, in the form of a wolf. Her task is to restore color (or 'life') to the world by destroying the monsters who have stolen it.
Rome: Total War is the next generation in epic strategy gaming from the critically acclaimed and award winning Total War brand.
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory
Like System Shock 1, there will be persistent levels (i.e., drop an item on one level, and you could go back later to retrieve it), gameplay elements like logs, inventory, skills, persistent world, leaning, hacking, rpg elements, multiple weapons and enemies, and a compelling storyline.
Team Fortress 2 (TF2) is the sequel to the game that put class-based, multiplayer team warfare on the map.
World Soccer Winning Eleven 7 International
Winning Eleven 7 International features 100 teams, 21 stadiums, new player models and key additions to the Master League.
The Sims Deluxe Patch
The Sims Deluxe Edition combines into one premium edition the most popular PC game of all time The Sims as well as the top-selling Sims expansion pack, The Sims Livin' Large, and a host of all new exclusive features and content.
Sid Meier's Gettysburg! Patch
Experience victory in Sid Meier's Gettysburg! It's the most engrossing and sophisticated real-time strategy game ever.
The Sims Patch
In "SimCity," you had the power to build and control cities ...
Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos Patch
[Metacritic's 2002 PC Game of the Year] It has been nearly fifteen years since the war between the orcs and humans ended.
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Patch
As Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare's single player campaign unfolds, the player is introduced to new gameplay at every turn – one moment you are fast-roping from your Black Hawk helicopter after storming into the war zone with an armada of choppers, the next you are a sniper, under concealment, in a Ghillie suit miles behind enemy lines, the next you are engaging hostiles from an AC-130 gunship thousands of feet above the battlefield.


Managing a cleaning business is not an easy thing to do because there are quite a number of factors to be taken into account that is why it would be best for you and your business to make use of the finest janitorial software there is. We want you to know that having your own janitorial software means that you will be able to make your cleaning business as effective and as efficient as it can be. With the amount of contribution this particular software offered to the majority of cleaning business establishments out there, it is expected for it to also have several options that we can choose from. As an owner of a cleaning business, it is to be expected that you want to get your hands on the finest janitorial software there can be and to help you achieve this particular objective of yours, we will be discussing below some of the things that you have to take into account when doing so. No matter what you are, may it be you are already an established business or a new one, one thing is for sure and that is how you will benefit most from this particular software in more ways than one. Take note that getting the right janitorial software will enable you to get something more accurate and clear for all your needs.
Surely, you know that there are a multitude of options that you can choose from for janitorial software for your cleaning business. To help you in getting the right janitorial software, what we will be doing is that we will present to you this article containing everything you need to know about it.
The first key feature that we have here in our list which is necessary for choosing a good janitorial software for your cleaning business is adaptability. All business that is successful is expected to go up and because of this, their needs will also grow thus, this the importance of considering this key feature. As much as possible, you have to see to it that the janitorial software you have has the ability of adapting to the kind of situation your business is and can be used to deal with various circumstances that may come alongside it.
Another thing about finding a good and reliable janitorial software is to look for one that has the ability to offer technical support that is available twenty-four/seven and unlimited as well. For the purpose of providing a much better and way faster mean to deal with all your technical issues, this kind of support service is necessary and must be present, starting from live web training, demo videos, blogs, training videos and a whole lot more.


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Wielding the Census to Decimate Workplace Diversity for Decades to Come
by wpengine | Apr 16, 2018 | Amicus, Labor and Employment, LGBTQ Rights |
Guest Post by Ryan H. Nelson
Ryan H. Nelson is an Adjunct Professor of Law at New York Law School where he teaches employment law and in-house counsel at one of the largest global providers of insurance and employee benefit programs where, inter alia, he provides advice and counsel on affirmative action in the workplace. He received his J.D., cum laude, from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University, and his B.S.B.A. with a major in Economics from the University of Florida.
The early 2010s seems like ages ago. Then-reality television star Donald Trump was hosting Season 4 and Season 5 of The Celebrity Apprentice rather than occupying the Oval Office. President Obama and others were rightly mocking the prospect of Trump's campaign for President. And I was arguing that the absence of LGBT population data from the U.S. Census Bureau served as an insurmountable hurdle preventing the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs ("OFCCP") from promulgating workable regulations requiring certain employers (those holding certain contracts with federal agencies) to take affirmative action to employ LGBT individuals.
Why? Lawful affirmative action in the workplace requires employers to compare their workforce's demographics with the availability of certain populations that could change those demographics. Then, in segments of the employer's workforce where a certain demographic is underrepresented, the employer can legally engage in outreach to flood its applicant pool with candidates from the underrepresented demographic. This way, employers increase the odds of changing their workforce to be better representative of the population without considering a candidate's race, sex, or any other protected classification in its hiring decisions.
For example, if some Silicon Valley tech giant determines that women make up just 8% of its computer programmers, whereas census data demonstrates that women make up roughly 21% of computer programmers in the Bay Area, the company can perform a number of statistical analyses to confirm that women are underrepresented in its workplace. So, as a best practice (or if the company is a federal contractor, as a legal requirement), the company should try to attract women to apply for computer programmer jobs, hopefully increasing the percentage of women that comprise such roles as a result.
But, without LGBT population data, companies cannot similarly determine whether gay people or transgender people are underrepresented in their workplace. Even today, there is no reliable data showing the population of gay or transgender computer programmers in the Bay Area. The best available LGBT population estimates are from UCLA School of Law's Williams Institute, but these data sets can only estimate LGBT populations based on imprecise census data and, even then, can only slice the data by state (not by statistical areas like the Bay Area or by occupations like computer programing). Hence, the tech giant in the example above is left to guess whether its workforce accurately represents the LGBT population.
Regulations promulgated by the OFCCP that went into effect in 2015 did prohibit federal contractors from discriminating based on sexual orientation and gender identity, but the agency stopped short of requiring federal contractors to engage in any sort of affirmative action to employ gay and transgender employees. And rightly so—no LGBT population data existed then, and none exists now, so such affirmative action would be impossible. Now, the decennial census—the next opportunity to finally fix this problem and secure LGBT population data—is a mere two years away. Yet, last year, Census Bureau Director John Thompson announced that the bureau would not ask Americans about their LGBT status in the 2020 census, again thwarting the dream of LGBT affirmative action in the workplace until at least the 2030s. Commenters accurately decried the bureau's decision for many, many, many reasons, but this post serves as yet another reason why the bureau's decision is flawed.
Recently, as if to add salt to the wound, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced that the Census Bureau would ask all respondents in the 2020 census to identify their citizenship. Discourse in the wake of this announcement has focused on how asking this question will chill response rates of Hispanics and other racial and ethnic minorities. True. And lower response rates for such already-marginalized communities compound existing problems, including the difficulties that companies have engaging in affirmative action to employ racial and ethnic minorities. Just as the absence of accurate LGBT population data stymies companies from assessing the extent to which gay and transgender people are underrepresented across various segments of their workforce, the absence of accurate race and ethnicity population data would stymie companies from assessing the extent to which racial and ethnic minorities are underrepresented. What's worse is that the missteps of this administration with respect to the census will cement inaccuracies in workplace affirmative action and stall workplace diversity efforts for decades to come.
President Trump and the officials that he appointed probably don't understand the incredible harm that the proposed questions in the 2020 census will inflict upon workplace diversity. Even if they do understand, I suspect that it won't bother them much. But it should bother us.


We listened to the story of the Annunciation from St Luke's Gospel and then sang Mary's song of praise the "Magnificat." Children from Year 6 then carried a statue of Mary around the school grounds and into the Church.
During the procession we sang hymns to Mary and prayed the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary. Reception children carried their special paintings of Mary and some beautiful flowers. A Year 6 girl had the honour of placing a crown of flowers onto Mary's head.


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FigariTech Conquers Australia – Figari Group continues strategic APAC Expansion
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According to Mariska Folley, Managing Director of Inspired Workspaces, "Working with Figari has been amazing. Jouni and his team have gone above and beyond. He has taken control and managed, not just our internal IT team, but also our current providers. It has provided us with a central point of contact for all things IT." Nick Davis, Area Director of @Workspaces remarked, "We were very impressed with the level of organisation, attention to detail and precise packaging of options that were provided to us by Figari. Already the customer support, communication and level of professionalism are far superior to what we have encountered with any of our previous experiences."
Figari Solutions Chief Executive Officer and co-founder Chris Butt stated, "Expanding in APAC has been exciting. We are proud to bring our world-class services to Australia with 10 new programs over the past 12 months. We see so much potential for businesses of all sizes in Australia. We look forward to aiding our customers in streamlining their business processes seamlessly with FigariTech. Along with our Chairman, Darcy Lalonde, we are fully committed to backing this expansion as we see the market wants what we have to offer."
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ToxicEye RAT Abuses Telegram For Command & Control
Post category:Cybersecurity / Cyberattacks
Hackers are leveraging controls from the popular messaging app Telegram to make use of a Remote-Access-Trojan (RAT). Dubbed ToxicEye RAT, it can give a hacker access to control a victim's device via a Telegram bot even if the app is not installed on the victim's devices. ToxicEye can take over file systems, load other malware such as ransomware, and steal data from the device, according to a new report by Check Point. Researchers have tracked more than 130 attacks in the last 90 days that used ToxicEye RAT. Hackers use the messaging service to communicate with their own server and return data to it.
Telegram, the cloud-based IM platform has enjoyed a surge in popularity this year because of controversial changes to its rival, WhatsApp's privacy settings. Telegram was the most downloaded app worldwide for January 2021 with more than 63 million installs and has surpassed 500 million monthly active users. This popularity also extends to the cyber-criminal community. Malware authors are increasingly using Telegram as a ready-made command and control (C&C) system for their malicious products because it offers several advantages compared to conventional web-based malware administration.
"We believe attackers are leveraging the fact that Telegram is used and allowed in almost all organizations, utilizing this system to perform cyber attacks, which can bypass security restrictions," researchers said.
According to researchers, there are a couple of reasons why Telegram is being used for malware like ToxicEye RAT:
Telegram is a legitimate, easy-to-use and stable service that isn't blocked by enterprise anti-virus engines, nor by network management tools
Attackers can remain anonymous as the registration process requires only a mobile number
The unique communications features of Telegram mean attackers can easily exfiltrate data from victims' PCs, or transfer new malicious files to infected machines
Telegram also enables attackers to use their mobile devices to access infected computers from almost any location globally.
The first use of Telegram as an attack vector was by the Masad info-stealer in 2017. The criminals behind Masad realized that using a popular IM service as an integral part of their attacks gave them a number of operational benefits. Since Masad became available on hacking forums, dozens of new types of malware that use Telegram for C&C and exploit Telegram's features for malicious activity, have been found as 'off-the-shelf' weapons in hacking tool repositories in GitHub.
ToxicEye RAT Infection Chain and Functionality
The analysis of the infection chain and functionality was carried out by Check Point.
In the first steps of ToxicEye RAT, the hacker will create a Telegram account and a Telegram 'bot'. A Telegram bot account is a special remote account with which users can interact by Telegram chat or by adding them to Telegram groups, or by sending requests directly from the input field by typing the bot's Telegram username and a query.
The bot is embedded into the ToxicEye RAT configuration file and compiled into an executable file. Any victim infected with this malicious payload can be attacked via the Telegram bot, which connects the user's device back to the attacker's C&C via Telegram.
In addition, ToxicEye RAT can be downloaded and run by opening a malicious document seen in the phishing emails called solution.doc and by pressing on "enable content."
ToxicEye RAT Infection Chain
Code snippet example from open source telegram RAT repositories
RATs created using Telegram have many shared modules. However, some of the more dangerous like ToxicEye RAT have several key capabilities that distinguish them from the rest:
Data stealing features – the RAT can locate and steal passwords, computer information, browser history and cookies.
File system control – Deleting and transferring files, or killing PC processes and taking over the PC's task manager.
I/O hijacking – the RAT can deploy a keylogger, or record audio and video of the victim's surroundings via the PC's microphone and camera, or hijack the contents of the clipboard.
Ransomware features – the ability to encrypt and decrypt victim's files.
A functionality snippet example from chosen Telegram Rat project
After installing the executable file, the attacker can hijack the computer through the bot
The developers who publish these tools disguise their true purpose by defining them as "Remote Administration Tool" or "for educational purpose only", although some of their characteristics are often found in malicious Trojans.
Given that Telegram can be used to distribute malicious files or as a C&C channel for remotely controlled malware, researchers expect that ToxicEye RAT will be one of many.
Protection & Mitigation
There are several steps for protection and mitigation if you feel you may be infected with ToxicEye RAT:
Search for a file called C:\Users\ToxicEye\rat.exe – if this file exists on your PC, you have been infected and must immediately contact your helpdesk and erase this file from your system.
Monitor the traffic generated from PCs in your organization to a Telegram C&C – if such traffic is detected, and Telegram is not installed as an enterprise solution, this is a possible indicator of compromise
Beware of attachments containing usernames – malicious emails often use your username in their subject line or in the file name of the attachment on it. These indicate suspicious emails: delete such emails, and never open the attachment nor reply to the sender.
Undisclosed or unlisted recipient(s) – if the email recipient(s) has no names, or the names are unlisted or undisclosed – this is a good indication this email is malicious and / or a phishing email.
Always note the language in the email – Social engineering techniques are designed to take advantage of human nature. This includes the fact that people are more likely to make mistakes when they're in a hurry and are inclined to follow the orders of people in positions of authority. Phishing attacks commonly use these techniques to convince their targets to ignore their potential suspicions about an email and click on a link or open an attachment.
Deploy an automated anti-phishing solution – Minimizing the risk of phishing attacks to the organization requires tools that can spot decoy emails containing attacks like ToxicEye RAT better than the human eye. One of these tools is SaferNet.


Kia is making a lot of waves with its new 2019 Kia Forte sedan. The car was unveiled only recently, and people were quick to notice the design hints the otherwise family car has taken from its more aggressive and sportier cousin, the Kia Stinger. And with the new car launch, Kia is spreading the news of the new cars like never before.
Kia Motors launched a video of its new 2019 Forte going head to head with none other than the Italian bull of a car, the Lamborghini Aventador. But you might be wondering, how can a saloon like the Forte even think of competing with something as magnificent as the beast itself, the Aventador.
But this is no ordinary comparison. And you will be amazed at how the Kia Forte takes the lead from the Italian hypercar. So what if the Aventador is like lightning fast compared to the humble Forte. The Kia has got a lot more going on for itself than just the speed. Watch the interesting below and enjoy the creativity of Kia in highlighting all the things the Forte 2019 does better than the Lamborghini Aventador. And decide for yourself if the 2019 Kia Forte wins or not!
I am an avid automotive enthusiast and like to write about cars and motorcycles.


If you live in another country and are looking to buy a property in Vancouver and Metro Vancouver, we can certainly help you. When you're buying property outside of your country, you require professional assistance to ensure that the purchase is conducted smoothly. We offer competent representation in international real estate dealings.
No matter what your goals are for purchasing property in this country, we're dedicated to working hard for you and finding you what you want. Contact us for more information about real estate.


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World Civilization
Ch. 10 Chinese Dynasties
Rise of the Ming Dynasty
Describe the origins and rise of the Ming dynasty
The Ming dynasty was the ruling dynasty of China for 276 years (1368–1644) following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty.
Explanations for the demise of the Yuan include institutionalized ethnic discrimination against Han Chinese that stirred resentment and rebellion, overtaxation of areas hard-hit by inflation, and massive flooding of the Yellow River caused by the abandonment of irrigation projects.
These issues led to a popular revolt called the Red Turban Rebellion, led in part by a peasant named Zhu Yuanzhang.
With the Yuan dynasty crumbling, competing rebel groups began fighting for control of the country and thus the right to establish a new dynasty, which Zhu did in 1368 after defeating his rivals in the largest naval battle in history and marching toward Beijing, the capital of the Yuan, causing Yuan leaders to flee.
White Lotus Society
A Buddhist secret society associated with the Red Turban Rebellion.
Zhu Yuanzhang
A poor peasant who rose through the ranks of a rebel army and later founded the Ming dynasty.
The Ming dynasty (January 23, 1368–April 25, 1644), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China founded by the peasant rebel leader Zhu Yuanzhang (known posthumously as Emperor Taizu). It succeeded the Yuan dynasty and preceded the short-lived Shun dynasty, which was in turn succeeded by the Qing dynasty. At its height, the Ming dynasty had a population of at least 160 million people, but some assert that the population could actually have been as large as 200 million.
Ming rule saw the construction of a vast navy and a standing army of one million troops. Although private maritime trade and official tribute missions from China had taken place in previous dynasties, the size of the tributary fleet under the Muslim eunuch admiral Zheng He in the 15th century surpassed all others in grandeur. There were enormous construction projects, including the restoration of the Grand Canal, the restoration of the Great Wall as it is seen today, and the establishment of the Forbidden City in Beijing during the first quarter of the 15th century. The Ming dynasty is, for many reasons, generally known as a period of stable, effective government. It is seen as the most secure and unchallenged ruling house that China had known up until that time. Its institutions were generally preserved by the following Qing dynasty. Civil service dominated government to an unprecedented degree at this time. During the Ming dynasty, the territory of China expanded (and in some cases also retracted) greatly. For a brief period during the dynasty northern Vietnam was included in Ming territory. Other important developments included the moving of the capital from Nanjing to Beijing.
Founding of the Ming Dynasty
The Mongol-led Yuan dynasty (1279–1368) ruled before the establishment of the Ming dynasty. Alongside institutionalized ethnic discrimination against Han Chinese that stirred resentment and rebellion, other explanations for the Yuan's demise included overtaxing areas hard-hit by crop failure, inflation, and massive flooding of the Yellow River caused by abandonment of irrigation projects. Consequently, agriculture and the economy were in shambles, and rebellion broke out among the hundreds of thousands of peasants called upon to work on repairing the dikes of the Yellow River.
A number of Han Chinese groups revolted, including the Red Turbans in 1351. Zhu Yuanzhang was a penniless peasant and Buddhist monk who joined the Red Turbans in 1352, but soon gained a reputation after marrying the foster daughter of a rebel commander.
Zhu was a born into a desperately poor tenant farmer family in Zhongli Village in the Huai River plain, which is in present-day Fengyang, Anhui Province. When he was sixteen, the Huai River broke its banks and flooded the lands where his family lived. Subsequently, a plague killed his entire family, except one of his brothers. He buried them by wrapping them in white clothes. Destitute, Zhu accepted a suggestion to take up a pledge made by his late father and became a novice monk at the Huangjue Temple, a local Buddhist monastery. He did not remain there for long, as the monastery ran short of funds and he was forced to leave. For the next few years, Zhu led the life of a wandering beggar and personally experienced and saw the hardships of the common people. After about three years, he returned to the monastery and stayed there until he was around twenty-four years old. He learned to read and write during the time he spent with the Buddhist monks.
The monastery where Zhu lived was eventually destroyed by an army that was suppressing a local rebellion. In 1352, Zhu joined one of the many insurgent forces that had risen in rebellion against the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. He rose rapidly through the ranks and became a commander. His rebel force later joined the Red Turbans, a millenarian sect related to the White Lotus Society, and one that followed cultural and religious traditions of Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, and other religions. Widely seen as a defender of Confucianism and neo-Confucianism among the predominantly Han Chinese population in China, Zhu emerged as a leader of the rebels that were struggling to overthrow the Yuan dynasty.
In 1356 Zhu's rebel force captured the city of Nanjing, which he would later establish as the capital of the Ming dynasty. Zhu enlisted the aid of many able advisors, including the artillery specialists Jiao Yu and Liu Bowen.
Zhu cemented his power in the south by eliminating his arch rival, rebel leader Chen Youliang, in the Battle of Lake Poyang in 1363. This battle was—in terms of personnel—one of the largest naval battles in history. After the dynastic head of the Red Turbans suspiciously died in 1367 while a guest of Zhu, Zhu made his imperial ambitions known by sending an army toward the Yuan capital in 1368. The last Yuan emperor fled north into Mongolia and Zhu declared the founding of the Ming dynasty after razing the Yuan palaces in Dadu (present-day Beijing) to the ground.
Hongwu Emperor of the Ming dynasty. Zhu Yuanzhang, later Hongwu Emperor, was the founder and first emperor of China's Ming dynasty. Born a poor peasant, he later rose through the ranks of a rebel army and eventually overthrew the Yuan leaders and established the Ming dynasty.
Instead of following the traditional way of naming a dynasty after the first ruler's home district, Zhu Yuanzhang's choice of "Ming," or "Brilliant," for his dynasty followed a Mongol precedent of choosing an uplifting title. Zhu Yuanzhang also took "Hongwu," or "Vastly Martial,"' as his reign title. Although the White Lotus had instigated his rise to power, the emperor later denied that he had ever been a member of the organization, and suppressed the religious movement after he became emperor.
Zhu Yuanzhang drew on both past institutions and new approaches in order to create jiaohua (civilization) as an organic Chinese governing process. This included building schools at all levels and increasing study of the classics as well as books on morality. There was also a distribution of Neo-Confucian ritual manuals and a new civil service examination system for recruitment into the bureaucracy.
Licenses and Attributions
CC licensed content, Shared previously
Boundless World History. Authored by: Boundless. Located at: https://www.boundless.com/world-history/textbooks/boundless-world-history-textbook/. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike


that needs to be fulfilled by a firm in a time period more than one year.
What are some examples, bonds, long term bank loans are some examples.
Valuation of long term liabilities is quite complicated.
we need to calculate present value of all future obligations.
Present value's a very important topic.
It's the topic of corporate finance.
Therefore in this class, we are going to take a shortcut.
liability where you don't have to calculate present values.
I'm going to discuss this soon.
that we're going to talk about in this class is bonds.
borrower borrows some money from the lender.
In return, borrower commits two types of payments to the lender.
we call this periodic payments as coupon payments.
so they are paid semi-annually.
we call this origin amount of borrowing as principal.
So one more time what's a bond?
repayment of all of the principle at the end of the maturity of the bond.
they are traded in the market.
So, basically you can go ahead and buy a bond and become a bond holder of a firm.
you are going to get bond certificate.
On the bond certificate you will have information about at least three things.
First you are going to have information about maturity date.
In other words, what is the life of this bond?
Bonds can be issued for five years, 10 years, 15, 20.
It is a between the borrower and the lender.
value, which is the principal.
you will have information about coupon rates.
Coupon rates are annual interest rates.
They are quoted annually, but most of the time they are paid semi-annually.
I'm going to make an example about this soon, to make it much more.
So how do you price bonds?
Bond are price according to present value, because they are long-term liabilities.
So under bond pricing we need to calculate present value of future coupon payments.
then we need to sum them up.
But as I've mentioned before, present value calculation is a long topic.
It is also a topic of corporate finance.
In this class, we're going to take a shortcut.
Under par bonds, you do not have to calculate present values.
Under par bonds, the head bonds, the price of the bond is equal to its face value.
Take the value, the original amount of borrowing.
So there is no present value calculations for par bonds.
Is par bonds a big deal?
In fact, if you look at the market, most of the bonds are issued at par.
So basically by looking at par bonds, we are not really losing much information.
So, how do do the accounting for bonds?
we need to go through accounting at the time of issues.
As you might remember we are talking about par bonds.
Under par bonds what do we have?
We have a price of a bond, which is equal to face value.
And similarly we have a bond payable, which is equal to bond face value.
So, at the time of issuance what type of accounting we are going to do?
Obviously, the third borrows money.
There is a cash infusion, cash will go up.
At the same time, the borrower will create a bond payable.
And who's amount will be same as face value.
The coupon rate is 10%, but it is going to be paid semi-annually, so every 6 months.
Issue date of this bond is January 1, 2015.
And the life of this bond is five years so the maturity will be five years.
So what is the accounting at the time of issuance.
the firm generates $15,000, therefore, cash increases by $15,000.
Similarly, there is a bond payable account created, it also $15,000.
we didn't calculate any present value.
All we are doing here is that bond payable amount is same as the face value.
Now we did the accounting for issues.
because we know that we are dealing with a bond, which is has a life of five years.
Well, we know that bonds have two types of payments.
First there will be period coupon payments.
because you are paying some interest.
And then you need to record some interest expense on the income statement.
we know that this bond has a coupon rate of 10%, which is paid semi-annually.
2015, we need to pay some coupons.
What is the size of this coupon payment?
But we know that face value of this bond is $5,000.
coupon are paid semi-annually, therefore I am dividing this by 2.
every six months is $250.
It is paid to lenders.
and notice that it is also $250.
It is in parentheses, it is an expense.
One more six months pass.
Now, we are at end of year 2015.
the transaction will be similar.
and again there is an interest expense of $250.
And you are going to do this for the next five years.
it means that you need to pay ten coupons.
Then what is the bond they can get at the time of maturity?
Well, at the time of maturity, you need to do two transactions.
you need to pay all original amount of borrowing.
Again, if I'll go back to my question, I have a bond whose face value is 5,000.
at the end of 2019 I'm going to make the last coupon payments.
on the income state of $ 250, but now we are at the end of this bond.
We are at the time of maturity.
then the borrower needs to pay back all $5,000 back to the borrower.
and similarly notice that bond payable account is removed.
We put a minus $5,000 on the bond table.
So from now on bond payable account disappears.
So if you summarize, how do we do the bond accounting.
Where bond accounting involves two things.
You need to make coupon payments.
You need to record them.
you need to also record the payment of the original amount of face value.
So here is a bit of summary of what we have done in this module.
First, we talked about recognition of liabilities.
And then we discussed liability valuation.
And finally we discussed accounting for short-term and long-term liabilities.
In the next session, we are going to talk about accounting for shareholders' equity.


Ink & Snow: "Bobbing for Apples in an Outhouse"
"Bobbing for Apples in an Outhouse"
I've been installing insulation in a cabin the past couple days, and it's an awful lot like politics: gets under your skin and drives you crazy. That and makes you die a slow, horrible, cancerous death.
Sarah Palin's congressional political counterpart, Minnesota's Michele Bachmann, led a Republican patriot-tea-bagger protest against health care outside the US Capitol, and our own Congressman Don Young attended the rally.
Given Don Young's penchant for embracing right wing craziness one can only assume he tacitly approved of the rhetoric of thousands of people screaming "Kill" and carrying signs that read "Waterboard Congress" and Holocaust images from the Dachau crematoria comparing health care legislation with Nazi Germany.
In fact, an official press release from his office makes a statement equating the health care bill to "bobbing for apples in an outhouse."
Or, as succinctly phrased over on Mudflats; it's "Time for Republicans to Start Eating Their Young."


Here we are with just one more full day before football begins again. My beloved Wildcats take on Iowa followed by Ohio State next weekend. It won't be pretty. I've come to terms with the fact that Northwestern is going through yet another rebuilding year and that there won't be any surprise wins (even though beating the Buckeyes would make my season). In fact, one of my friends even referred to my reaction to NU's loss to Michigan as mature. I call it giving up. So instead I'm putting all of my football energy for the weekend in my fantasy teams. This is particularly true since I am playing my nemesis in one of my leagues (no, not my husband). Perhaps I'm alone in this but every season I seem to develop one particular nemesis that I just really want to beat. And beat badly. Usually it's because they say asinine things on the message board or smack talk in a really irritating way. I've been known to mutter their team name under my breath during draft time or just be pissed off that they won even if it has no real bearing on my own record. In most cases (this one included), my nemesis is a decent guy in life outside of FF. But that's not the world I live in on Sundays.
So in honor of beating a nemesis, see below for some sit/start sites. As always, I will update the links as they go live. And never fear, my analysis of which sit/start sites were the most accurate will return. I've taken a couple of bye weeks.
Also, many thanks to Dave from SportsBlogging for writing up a review of this blog. Check out his site to find some great blogs on all sorts of sports...not just football. Who knew there was more to the sports world??


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Lindenwood sells home ice, moves to Centene Center
Eureka Post 177 seeks fourth consecutive title as District 10 postseason tournament begins play
St. Louis Metro Collegiate Baseball League All-Star Game ends in a tie
Biermann finishes in top 20 in 44th annual Junior Girls PGA Championship
Hoisington wins 20th Metropolitan Junior Amateur boys championship
West Newsmagazine Your online news source for West St. Louis County, Missouri
Home >> Sports >> Other Sports >> Defending Class 2 boys cross country champs Whitfield returns to state meet focused on task at hand
Defending Class 2 boys cross country champs Whitfield returns to state meet focused on task at hand
By: Warren Mayes
The Whitfield boys cross country team won the Class 2 state meet last fall and now the Warriors have the opportunity to do it again.
Whitfield captured the recent Class 2 District 2 meet at Spanish Lake in north St. Louis County. The Warriors had 28 points to easily move on to the state meet.
The state again will be in Jefferson City. The boys will race Saturday (Nov. 7) at the Oak Hills Golf Center. The Class 2 boys race begins at 10:50 a.m.
"This group of boys were very determined to get back to Jefferson City," coach Matt Politte said. "They told me this but more importantly they showed me through there actions."
There are five runners back from last year's team that win with 72 points, five less than Springfield Catholic. Gone from that team is Nate Gebler, who was the medalist with a time of 16 minutes, 04.62 seconds.
The district win was the only meet victory this year "so far" for his Warriors, Politte said. It was Whitfield's fifth consecutive district championship and seventh overall.
It was great meet for his squad, Politte said.
"Our boys ran five in the top 11 of the race. We had three career personal best's and one season personal best along with the individual champion," Politte said. "We ran smart and did what we needed to do to prepare for the state race."
Junior Simon Gebler was the district medalist with a winning time of 16:43.17 It was not a personal best for Gebler.
"Simon has developed into a real player in Class 2," Politte said. "He is a student of the discipline and constantly seeks opportunity's to learn and become better. His performance at the district race is evidence that he is learning and growing with each race he runs."
The other Warriors ran well, too.
Ethan Bradley came in third in 17:41.55. Finishing sixth was Chris Hanson at 17:50.08 and in seventh was Matthew Ruvinov at 17:52.68. Aiden Pratt was 11th in 18:13.16. Andrew Smith was 14th in 18:38.95 and Morgan Leak wound up 17th overall in 19:05.72.
"Ethan Bradley, Matthew Ruvinov and Aiden Pratt all set new personal career records and Chris Hanson set a new personal season record," Politte said. "Our boys were focused and committed to working hard for each other. It's clear this group is a team in the purest sense of the word and they proved that by winning their fifth straight district title."
The Warriors are ready for state, Politte said.
"Our current mindset is simply, focused," Politte said. "This group has goals and they have been sacrificing as a team to be in a position to reach them. They have suffered together and now they will have the opportunity to race together and earn a reward for it."
It's a great group to coach and lead, Politte said.
"I am so blessed to have the opportunity to work with such a committed and focused group of runners that in many ways a trip to Jefferson City is a simple reflection of that focus and commitment," Politte said. "I really enjoy the state race regardless of the outcome because it gives my athletes the opportunity to race the best and take a shot at reaching their goals."
Certainly, Whitfield is deserving of the opportunity. They are one of the top teams competing, Politte said.
"Our boys have earned the right to be considered for one of the top four spots at the Class 2 state meet," Politte said. "We will find out Saturday if we have done what was necessary to repeat as state champions.
"Once you reach the state meet the competition is always tight. We just appreciate the opportunity to compete against the best class two teams in the state."
Warren Mayes
Warren graduated from the University of Missouri and has worked for several newspapers as well as United Press International [UPI] in the past. In addition to writing sports articles for West Newsmagazine, Warren designs sports pages at the Belleville News-Democrat and is a freelance writer covering St. Louis Cardinals and St. Louis Blues games and news conferences for the Associated Press.
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Trog or Wally Fawkes is regarded as one of the best British caricaturists of the modern era. In my youth when I was starting out drawing he was certainly an inspiration. His ability to marry the main two elements needed in a caricature ie distortion and likeness is second to none in my view. Still going strong at 94, he was still drawing in his eighties.


Damage Prognosis: For Aerospace, Civil and Mechanical by Inman D.J., Farrar C.R., Junior V.L.
By Inman D.J., Farrar C.R., Junior V.L.
Harm analysis is a traditional extension of wear and tear detection and structural overall healthiness tracking and is forming a growing to be a part of many companies. This finished quantity offers a sequence of basic themes that outline the hot region of wear and tear diagnosis. Bringing jointly crucial info in all of the simple applied sciences essential to practice harm analysis, it additionally displays the hugely interdisciplinary nature of the during the huge referencing of every of the part disciplines. Taken from lectures given on the Pan American complex reviews Institute in harm analysis subsidized by means of the united states nationwide technology beginning in cooperation with Los Alamos nationwide Laboratories, this e-book could be crucial examining for a person trying to familiarize yourself with the basics of wear analysis. - offers the 'ground principles' for harm Prognosis.- bargains with interdisciplinary themes: rotating machines, aerospace buildings, car elements and civil structures.- Covers crucial technical fabric: equations, graphs and plots, tables and photographs.- bargains extra fabric from the linked workshop on an energetic website.
Fourth, models that can reliably predict damage evolution can have a huge economical impact, as uncertainties and safety factors can then be reduced. Fifth, materials models are especially crucial for materials exhibiting a size effect, such as brittle ceramics, concrete and fiber composites. It is most often the case that laboratory-size test specimens are much smaller than actual structures. Sixth, a useful application of materials models is to extend predictive capabilities obtained using simple loading states, experienced in the laboratory, to the multiaxial loading states or time sequences of different loading conditions experienced in service.
These considerations alone are not sufficient for developing a complete material model. It is necessary to obtain specific information concerning a given material's behavior. This information is obtained from experimental data. The key outcomes of such experiments are the characterization of the stress–strain curves and/or the failure conditions of a material. Simple mechanical tests, such as compression, tension, or shear tests, that generate uniform fields in the test section typically provide the starting point for developing a data base that characterizes a material's behavior.
Fifth, materials models are especially crucial for materials exhibiting a size effect, such as brittle ceramics, concrete and fiber composites. It is most often the case that laboratory-size test specimens are much smaller than actual structures. Sixth, a useful application of materials models is to extend predictive capabilities obtained using simple loading states, experienced in the laboratory, to the multiaxial loading states or time sequences of different loading conditions experienced in service.
Carlos Bezerra Library > Physics > Damage Prognosis: For Aerospace, Civil and Mechanical by Inman D.J., Farrar C.R., Junior V.L.


Konica Minolta is a global corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, which is among the leaders in the IT branch. The main products and services offered are in the field of copier and printing equipment - multifunction devices, printers and industrial printing systems.
In 1875 was founded the corporation "Tanaka Engineering Works", which all now know as "Toshiba".
Brother's product range in the field of office equipment includes laser printers, laser multifunctional devices, inkjet multifunctional devices, faxes and the recently gaining in popularity - label printers. Brother is one of the 3 top-selling brands of laser printers in Bulgaria.
For the past three decades, Katun has been one of the world's leading providers of OEM-compatible imaging supplies, photoreceptors, and parts for copiers, printers, MFPs and other imaging equipment. From our humble beginnings in 1979, we pioneered and helped legitimize the imaging supplies aftermarket. Today, we serve 16,000 customers in 135 countries from our headquarters in Minneapolis and dozens of worldwide locations.


text:
Q: Media Queries and Rails Asset Pipeline So I've noticed that when Rails processes it concatenates all media queries together and sticks them at the bottom of the CSS file.
Is this an option that I can disable? Is it a purposeful decision on by the asset pipeline?

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Q: Python function doesn't work in C API of Apache2.2 I have compile mod_xxx.c that is include python code.
#include "httpd.h"
#include "http_config.h"
#include "http_protocol.h"
#include "ap_config.h"
#include "python2.7/Python.h"
static int r4_handler(request_rec *r)
{
    if (strcmp(r->handler, "r4")) {
        return DECLINED;
    }
    r->content_type = "text/html";

    if (!r->header_only)
      { Py_Initialize();
        Py_Finalize();
        ap_rputs("\tPrint test\n", r);}
    return OK;
}
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But don't print "Print test" on my web browser. Py_Initialize(); Py_Finalize(); functions not working?


Rhodium nanoparticles (Rh NPs) stabilized by natural cinchona alkaloids were synthesized in imidazolium-based ionic liquids using H2 as the reductant. Characterization showed well-dispersed Rh NPs of about 1.96 nm (TEM and HRTEM) and confirmed the ionic liquid and cinchona alkaloid stabilization to the Rh(0) NPs (XPS). When modified by chiral diamine, including (1R,2R)-diphenylethylenediamine ((1R,2R)-DPEN) or cinchona alkaloid derivatives, the Rh NPs catalysts exhibited good activity, chemoselectivity and enantioselectivity in the heterogeneous enantioselective hydrogenation of aromatic ketones. Synergistic effect between (1R,2R)-DPEN and cinchonidine was also observed, which significantly accelerated the reaction rate and enhanced the enantioselectivity. 63.0% enantioselectivity and 98.9% chemoselectivity could be achieved in the acetophenone enantioselective hydrogenation; up to 70.2% enantioselectivity and 100% chemoselectivity was obtained in the isobutyrylbenzene catalytic enantioselective hydrogenation. Catalytic system could be reused several times without significant loss in activity, chemoselectivity as well as enantioselectivity. This catalytic protocol opens the door to heterogeneous enantioselective hydrogenation of aromatic ketones with metal Rh NPs immobilized in ionic liquid.
Cinchona alkaloid and ionic liquid stabilized Rh NPs catalyst, when modified by chiral diamine like (1R,2R)-DPEN, exhibited high activity, high chemoselectivity and good enantioselectivity in the challenging heterogeneous enantioselective hydrogenation of aromatic ketones to corresponding aromatic alcohols under mild conditions. Synergistic effect between (1R,2R)-DPEN and cinchonidine was also observed, which significantly accelerated the reaction rate and enhanced the enantioselectivity. 63.0% enantioselectivity and 98.9% chemoselectivity could be achieved in the acetophenone enantioselective hydrogenation; up to 70.2% enantioselectivity and 100% chemoselectivity was obtained in the isobutyrylbenzene catalytic enantioselective hydrogenation. Catalytic system could be reused several times without significant loss in activity, chemoselectivity as well as enantioselectivity. This catalytic protocol opens the door to heterogeneous enantioselective hydrogenation of aromatic ketones with metal Rh NPs immobilized in ionic liquid.
This work was financially supported by Natural Science Foundation Project of CQ (No. cstc2018jcyjAX0735), National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 21201184), Chongqing Technology and Business University (1751039) and Chongqing Key Laboratory of Catalysis and New Environmental Materials (1456028, KFJJ2018050).


CHICAGO (AP) -- A Chicago alderman says he's found a way for the city to raise desperately needed cash that will also keep more police officers on the street: Marijuana.
McCarthy also has not endorsed the ordinance, but while some law enforcement organizations elsewhere in the U.S. have opposed such measures, he has signaled he's open to it - for some of the same reasons Solis cited.
Solis' plan would levy a ticket for someone in possession of 10 grams or less of the drug - roughly the equivalent of 10 marijuana cigarettes - that could be cleared with a $200 fine and up to 10 hours of community service. Currently, the offense is a misdemeanor that carries up to six months in jail and a $1,500 fine.
"If you're a young kid with no record, all of a sudden you're arrested and then the case is thrown out, that arrest is going to follow you unless you go in and get it discharged - and it can affect your schooling, it can affect where you live and it can affect your job possibilities," he said.


Lisa M. Platow is a portfolio analyst at National Investment Services. She joined the firm in 2002 and is responsible for portfolio administration, reconciliation and construction of client and consultant investment summaries.
Prior to joining NIS, Lisa was an account administrator at Campbell Newman Asset Management. Prior to that she was an account administrator at Capital Investment Services. She began her career working at NISA Investment Advisors.
Lisa holds a B.B.A. in finance from the University of Wisconsin – Whitewater.


bolo'bolo is a cosy plant-based café and alternative bookstore / infoshop in the heart of Muizenberg Village, Cape Town.
They serve a variety of delicious and well-priced light snacks, nourishing meals, sweet treats, organic Fairtrade coffee, organic teas, smoothies, shakes and freshly extracted juices. They try to ensure that all their ingredients are local, organic and ethically sourced.
The Simon's Town train stops just down the road from bolo'bolo (get off at Muizenberg station and it's only a three minute walk).


text:
Man creates dog maze for his bulldog after heavy snow hits US
A man has created an elaborate snow-maze for his English bulldog – and recorded with a drone his pooch trying to figure his way out.
Lonnie King, 34, from Westlake, Ohio, dug the intricate maze after over 2ft of snow fell in the area earlier this month.
Lonnie King created an intricate maze for her bulldog
And his overjoyed dog, Gizmo, quickly sprung into action searching for lonnie's wife Nicole and nine-year-old daughter hidden at the ends of the maze.
Lonnie, who dug the trail over two days, said: "I started shovelling the deep snow for my dog Gizmo, a year and a half old English bulldog, so he could go to the bathroom.
More than 2ft of snow fell in Ohio earlier this month
"He wouldn't go into the deep snow that was over his body's height, so I made him a little path.
"He loved it so much, and we did too just watching him play and jump around having fun.
"We decided to make it bigger and have it lead to his favourite tree at the other end of the garden."
Lonnie, who dug the trail over two days, said: "He wouldn't go into the deep snow that was over his body's height, so I made him a little path."
Lonnie, a former casino dealer, recorded his dogs attempts at sussing out the maze using a drone, which he built at home.
He added: "I have made a few videos, but I know this is the best so far. I own several drone, build my own and sell them.
"But it was just great to spend time with the family and record it all."
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With a newly-designed education series led by industry experts, NADA will demonstrate how to take your business to the next level at NADA Show 2018. Four dynamic speakers will go beyond the Show's six traditional workshop tracks to discuss Leadership, Culture, Team Building, and Personal and Business Success.
The schedule for our 2018 Distinguished Speakers Series is below. Once you've registered for NADA Show 2018, be sure to add these new educational offerings as you plan your schedule for the weekend.
Learn how compassion, vulnerability and authenticity motivate teams and create "positive energizers"— the people who are the root of heliotropic leadership. Positive energizers keep their word, and are honest, positive, humble, compassionate and forgiving, to name a few key qualities. They bolster more employee engagement, customer loyalty and financial success. With a small amount of effort, any leader can improve such heliotropic qualities.
Jim Knight, Former Hard Rock International Executive and Author of Culture That Rocks!
Jim Knight highlights well-known brands, including Hard Rock International, to show how to change an organization's culture. In his signature rock 'n' roll style, Jim delves into heritage versus culture, brand ambassadors, employee engagement, and how to hire—and retain—leadership rock stars. If you're open to change within your organization, don't miss the opportunity to hear what all the noise is about.
Joe Theismann—former NFL quarterback and Super Bowl champ—draws parallels between winning in football and in business. Learn how to succeed under pressure—when it's "fourth and one"—and how to adapt quickly to unexpected situations— when faced with a "blitz" instead of a "zone." Theismann urges individuals and organizations to set goals, correct errors and build momentum to make it hard for even the best defense to stop.
New approaches to data analytics—like big data and hyper-local targeting—create more relevant marketing, inventory, deal terms and service reminders to boost productivity for the entire store. Can prices and preferences make vehicle purchases smarter and easier? Will the right data determine better advertising attribution? Is there a logarithm for unique VIN-level sales prices for each shopper? Smart options and recommendations for consumers will turn into faster sales and higher gross.
Read more about all of the workshops and education sessions at the upcoming NADA Show and be sure to reserve your spot today.