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Tag Archives: responses
5 ways our immune responses to COVID vaccines are unique
Paul Gill, Monash University and Menno van Zelm, Monash University
The Oxford vaccine trial at the centre of safety concerns this week highlights the idea that people's immune systems respond to vaccines differently.
We don't yet know whether reports of immune complications in one or two trial participants have been linked to the COVID-19 vaccine itself, or if they were given the placebo vaccine.
But it does highlight the importance of phase 3 clinical trials in many thousands of people, across continents. These not only tell us whether a vaccine is safe, but also whether it works for people of different ages or with particular health issues.
So what are some of the immune factors that determine whether any of the 180 or so COVID-19 vaccine candidates being developed around the world actually work?
Halting the Oxford vaccine trial doesn't mean it's not safe – it shows they're following the right process
Our immune responses are all different
An effective vaccine should generate long-lasting protective immunity against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
This can be by generating antibodies to neutralise the virus and likely also by helping the immune system memorise and quickly respond to infection.
How vaccines work with your immune system to protect against disease.
We know, from developing vaccines against other viruses, that people's immune response to a vaccine can vary. There's every reason to believe this will also be the case for a COVID-19 vaccine.
1. Vaccine type and how it's delivered
Many COVID-19 vaccine candidates contain parts of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein to stimulate protective immunity. However, there are many different ways of delivering these proteins to the body, and some may be more effective than others at stimulating your immune system.
For example, the Oxford vaccine combines the spike protein with another virus to mimic the actions of SARS-CoV-2.
Meanwhile, the candidate developed by the University of Queensland contains the spike protein packaged with another compound (an adjuvant) to stimulate the immune system.
Oxford scientists: these are final steps we're taking to get our coronavirus vaccine approved
Some people will likely need a follow-up booster shot to ensure longer-lasting immunity.
We may also see some vaccines delivered as a nasal spray. This may elicit a more effective immune response to COVID-19 in the upper respiratory tract, including the nostrils, mouth and throat.
2. Our previous infections
Previous infections may prime our immune system to respond differently to vaccination.
For instance, the SARS-CoV-2 virus belongs to a large family of human coronaviruses, four of which are responsible for common colds.
Being exposed to these cold-causing coronaviruses, and developing immune memory cells against them, may mean a stronger or quicker response to a COVID-19 vaccine.
The common cold can also be caused by coronaviruses, and your immune system may be primed to respond.
Exposure to common colds might give some people a head start in fighting COVID-19
Some people have poor protective immune responses to COVID-19 vaccine candidates. These people may have existing immunity to the adenovirus used in some vaccines to deliver the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein.
In other words, their body mounts an immune response to the wrong part of the vaccine (the delivery mechanism) and not so much to the characteristic part of the virus (the spike protein).
3. Our genetics
Our genes play a large part in regulating our immune system.
Researchers have already seen sex differences, which are partly governed by genes, in the immune response to the flu vaccine. They have also seen sex differences in the immune response to COVID-19.
So larger clinical trials should help us understand whether men and women respond differently to a COVID-19 vaccine.
People with inherited immune deficiencies may also be unable to generate protective immunity in response to vaccination.
What does it mean to be immunocompromised? And why does this increase your risk of coronavirus?
4. Our age
The composition of our immune system changes throughout the course of our lives, and this affects our ability to mount a protective immune response.
Infants' and children's immune systems are still developing. So their immune response may be different to adults'.
Some COVID-19 vaccines may be more effective for children, or recommended for them, as we see already with the flu vaccine.
Putting our money on two COVID vaccines is better than one: why Australia's latest vaccine deal makes sense
As we get older, changes in our immune system mean we cannot efficiently maintain long-lasting protective immunity; we are less able to make new antibodies in response to infection.
We already know older people are less likely to mount a protective immune response with the flu vaccine.
So we need the data from large trials to verify whether COVID-19 vaccines work in children and elderly people.
5. Lifestyle factors
Diet, exercise, stress and whether we smoke influence our immune response to vaccination. So we can look after our immune system with a healthy lifestyle where possible.
There is also an emerging hypothesis that our gut microbes may influence our immune response to vaccination. But more research is needed to confirm this could occur during COVID-19 vaccination.
Gut instinct: how the way you're born and fed affect your immune system
Paul Gill, Post-doctoral Researcher (Gastroenterology and Immunology), Monash University and Menno van Zelm, Associate Professor, Immunology, Monash University
Posted in Health and Fitness, news	| Tagged article, coronavirus, health, Immune System, news, responses, unique, vaccine | Leave a comment
Australian Politics: 14 July 2013
Posted on July 14, 2013 by particularkev
With the return of Kevin Rudd as Prime Minister in Australia, things have been moving along fairly quickly in Australian politics. Time of course is running out as an election looms, so time is necessarily of the essence. One of the areas that the ALP has moved to address is the carbon tax, with Kevin Rudd's government moving toward an emissions trading scheme. This has brought the typical and expected responses from the opposition, as well as charges of hypocrisy from the Greens. For more visit the following links:
– http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/kevin-rudd-confirms-government-to-scrap-fixed-carbon-price-20130714-2pxqi.html
The link below is to an article that pretty much sums up the situation currently in Australian politics I think – well worth a read.
For more visit:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jul/12/tony-abbott-fall-stunt-men
Also causing continuing angst in Australia is the issue of asylum seekers and boat people. There has been even more terrible news from the seas surrounding Christmas Island, with yet another asylum seeker tragedy involving a boat from Indonesia.
Around the edges of the mainstream parties are those of Bob Katter and Clive Palmer. There are stories of an alleged financial offer from Clive Palmer's 'Palmer United Party' to join with 'Katter's Australian Party' for $20 million dollars and form the combined 'Katter United Australian Party.' For more visit the links below:
– http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/national/palmer-denies-deal-with-katters-party/story-e6frfku9-1226679175607
– http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-07-14/katter2c-palmer-at-odds-over-claims-mining-magnate-offered-fin/4819098
And finally, for just a bit of a chuckle – not much of one – just a small chuckle, have a read of the following article linked to at:
http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/turnbull-still-not-laughing-at-tonys-internet-humour/story-fnii5s3z-1226679169349
Posted in ALP, Australia, Christmas Island, Clive Palmer, Greenhouse gases, Greens, Katter's Australian Party, Liberal Party, National Party, news, Palmer United Party, Politics, Refugees, Tony Abbott, video	| Tagged 2013, alleged, ALP, angst, asylum, Australia, Australian, boat, Bob Katter, carbon, charges, Christmas Island, Clive Palmer, combined, election, expected, financial, form, Greens, hypocrisy, Indonesia, issue, join, July 14, Katter United Australian Party, Katter's Australian Party, Kevin Rudd, Labor Party, Liberal Party, mainstream, National Party, news, offer, opposition, Palmer United Party, parties, people, Politics, Prime Minister, responses, return, seas, seekers, stories, surrounding, tax, terrible, Tony Abbott, tragedy, typical, video | Leave a comment
Convert from Islam Escapes Egypt with Daughter
After painful effort to change ID card, Christians flee – to similar fate.
CAIRO, Egypt, March 21 (CDN) — When the plane carrying Maher El-Gohary and his daughter, Dina Mo'otahssem, took off from Cairo International Airport last month, they both wept with joy. After spending two-and-a-half years in hiding for leaving Islam to become Christians, they were elated by their newfound freedom.
They also felt secure that once they arrived in Syria, they would quickly obtain visas to the United States and start a new life. That hope soon proved unfounded.
After spending more than a week and a half unable to obtain a visa to the United States or to any country in Europe, they realized they may have traded in the reality of being prisoners in their own country for being refugees in another. And as El-Gohary watches the weeks pass and his resources dwindle, he said the stress is almost unbearable.
"I feel like we've stepped out of a prison cell and into a fire," he said. "We are in very, very bad conditions … My daughter and I divide the bottles of water to live, because there is no income."
Maher Ahmad El-Mo'otahssem Bellah El-Gohary, 58, gained notoriety in Egypt after he sued the government in August 2008 to gain the right to change the religion listed on his state-issued ID card from Islam to Christianity. In Egypt, ID cards play a critical role in a person's life, being used for everything from opening a bank account and renting an apartment to receiving medical care.
The listed religious affiliation, whether a card-holder subscribes to it or not, also determines whether the person is subject to Islamic civil law. The listed religious designation determines what state-mandated religion classes minors are required to take in school. El-Gohary said he filed the suit so his daughter, then 15, could opt out of the religious classes and would not be subject to the persecution he suffered when he became a Christian in his 20s.
It is a crime punishable by imprisonment to have no ID card in Egypt.
The suit sparked outrage throughout Egypt. Both El-Gohary and his daughter were publicly branded apostates in a country where 84 percent of Muslims think those who leave Islam should be executed, according to a study released by the Pew Research Center in December. The same month the suit was filed in 2008, El-Gohary and his daughter were forced into hiding.
For two-and-a-half years, El-Gohary shifted back and forth among several apartments in Cairo and Alexandria, usually once every month. Even in hiding, the two were harassed regularly by Egypt's dreaded State Security Intelligence service (SSI) and assaulted repeatedly by others, including someone pouring acid on Dina, El-Gohary said.
While in hiding, El-Gohary tried repeatedly to leave Egypt, but officials at the Ministry of the Interior blocked him at every attempt. On at least one occasion, they seized his passport. In December 2010, after a long legal battle, El-Gohary got a court decision ordering the Ministry of the Interior to allow him to travel, but he said it still took several weeks for the government to comply with the order; the Jan. 25-Feb. 11 revolution didn't hurt, El-Gohary said.
After the national demonstrations that led to the removal of both President Hosni Mubarak and Minister of Interior Habib Al-Adly, El-Gohary and his daughter went to Cairo International Airport on Feb. 22 to leave the county. They came prepared with their newly issued passports, the court order and myriad documents to prove they had the right to leave the country. Even so, authorities took the two aside for interrogation at the airport.
"My daughter and I went to the counter of the airport to the manager, then they took us to the SSI," El-Gohary said. "We spent an hour talking to an officer trying to tell him, 'We spent ages during Habib Al-Adly's time, and even now after the revolution, we don't have the right to leave?'"
According to El-Gohary, the guard asked him if he really wanted to leave the country.
"Yes," El-Gohary replied. "I have a court order against Al-Adly, and I have the right to leave and the freedom to travel outside the country." As if to add insult to more than two years of injury, the SSI officers told El-Gohary that Egypt was "their country" and to "come back anytime you want to."
El-Gohary credits the revolution as the reason he was allowed to leave Egypt, saying it was a miracle "from God."
They chose to go to Syria because Egyptian citizens are not required to have visas to visit there. After contact with a U.S. organization that concentrates on religious freedom, El-Gohary expected it would be easy to get a visa to the United States, where his wife lives. But he said he has been unable to obtain an entry visa there or to any country where he will feel safe. He went to a U.N. office in Syria seeking assistance; he was given an appointment to come back on April 20.
"I wasn't expecting, after all this suffering and all these years, that…" El-Gohary said, cutting himself off. "The series of persecution is not finished."
Although they don't live under the same type of threats as they did in Egypt, El-Gohary and Dina now live in an apartment where they still watch everything they say and everyone with whom they talk. They still spend much of their time trapped between the four walls of their apartment because Syria, El-Gohary said, is a country where converts to Christianity from Islam are persecuted.
"The danger is still there," El-Gohary said. "We don't get out of the house. We don't meet people. We don't tell people what we are doing or talk to them about our situation. Because we don't want someone to say, 'Why are you applying to the U.N.?' There are still a lot of enemies."
Dina, now 17, said that although leaving Egypt was "like a miracle," she is devastated by the prospect of having to spend more time with her life on hold. She said she is just as scared in Syria as she was in Egypt.
"We're really, really tired of all this suffering," she said. "I've lost two years of my life. I want to finish school."
Muslim converts to Christianity in Syria were sometimes forced to leave their place of residence due to societal pressure last year, according to the U.S. Department of State's 2010 International Religious Freedom Report. While there is no official state religion in Syria, the constitution requires that the president be Muslim and stipulates that Islamic law is a principal source of legislation.
With strict monitoring and curtailing of militant Islam, the government in Syria has long been considered a moderate regime. The government's fear of violent responses by Islamic extremists to increasing conversions to Christianity, however, was at least partially responsible for the closing of six buildings where Christians were meeting last year, according to Christian support organization Open Doors. Noting that several Christians were arrested and interrogated in 2010, the organization's World Watch List bumped Syria's ranking up to 38th place among nations in which persecution of Christians takes place, from position 41 the previous year.
Syria is 90 percent Muslim, and 6.34 percent of its 22.5 million population is Christian, according to Operation World.
Though El-Gohary and his daughter have a dark outlook on their current situation, they are still grateful.
"Without God's love, we would have been dead by now," El-Gohary said. "Getting out of Egypt itself was a victory from God."
Dina said she also is thankful, but that as she gets older she is becoming increasingly preoccupied by one wish.
"I want to get out so I can finish my studies," she said. "I want to go into a church and out of a church without being scared of being killed."
http://www.compassdirect.org
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Islamic Mob Burns Down Church in Egypt
'Kill all the Christians,' local imam tells villagers.
CAIRO, March 8 (CDN) — A Muslim mob in a village south of Cairo last weekend attacked a church building and burned it down, almost killing the parish priest after an imam issued a call to "Kill all the Christians," according to local sources.
The attack started on Friday evening (March 4) in the village of Sool, located in the city of Helwan 35 kilometers (22 miles) from Cairo, and lasted through most of Saturday. A local imam, Sheik Ahmed Abu Al-Dahab, issued the call during Friday afternoon prayers, telling area Muslims to kill the Christians because they had "no right" to live in the village. The attack started several hours later.
The Rev. Hoshea Abd Al-Missieh, a parish priest who narrowly escaped death in the fire, said the clamor of the church being torn apart sounded like "hatred."
"I was in the attack, but I can't describe it," he said. "The sound of the church being destroyed that I heard – I can't describe it, how horrible it was."
According to villagers, the mob broke into the Church of the Two Martyrs St. George and St. Mina, and as they chanted "Allahu Akbar [God is greater]," looted it, demolished the walls with sledgehammers and set a fire that burned itself out the next morning. Looters removed anything valuable, including several containers holding the remains of venerated Copts – most of whom were killed in other waves of persecution – then stomped and kicked the containers like soccer balls, witnesses said.
After the fire went out, the mob tore down what little remained of the church structure. The group of Muslims then held prayers at the site and began collecting money to build a mosque where the church building once stood, said the assistant bishop of Giza the Rev. Balamoun Youaqeem.
"They destroyed the church completely," he said. "All that was left is a few columns and things like that. As a building, it's all gone."
During the fire, Al-Missieh was trapped in a house near the church building that was filling up with smoke. He faced a difficult dilemma – choke or burn to death in the house, or face an angry mob of thousands screaming for blood.
"When the smoke was too much, I told myself, 'I am dying anyway,' so I decided I would go out and whatever happened, happened," Al-Missieh said.
When he went outside, a man with a rifle told the priest to follow him. At first Al-Missieh was reluctant, he said, but the man fired off two rounds from the rifle and told the crowd to step away.
"No one will touch this man, he is with me," the priest remembered the man yelling at the mob. Al-Missieh was taken to a house where he met three other workers who were at the church when it was attacked. The men all relayed stories similar to the priest's.
Friday's attack was another in a long list of disproportionate responses in Egypt to a rumor of an affair between a Muslim and a Copt. Earlier this month, Sool villagers accused a Muslim woman in her 30s and a Coptic man in his 40s, both of them married, of being involved with each other. On Wednesday (March 2) a village council of Coptic and Muslim leaders convened and agreed that the man should leave the village in order to avoid sectarian violence.
The next day, the woman's cousin killed the woman's father in a fight about the honor of the family. The same day, the cousin died of wounds he sustained in the fight. By Friday, Al-Dahab, the local imam, had blamed the entire incident on Christians in the village and called on all Muslims in Sool to kill them.
Because of the attack, Copts in Sool fled to adjacent villages. The women who remained in the village are now being sexually assaulted, according to Youaqeem, who added that he is receiving phone calls from women in the village begging for help. Those reports have not yet been independently confirmed.
"Everybody tried to find a way to get out," Youaqeem said.
Groups of Muslims have set up blockades around Sool, declaring they intend to turn it into an "Islamic village," Youaqeem said.
On Sunday (March 6), roughly 2,000 people gathered outside the Radio and Television Building in Cairo to protest the attack and what Copts see as a long-standing government refusal to address or even acknowledge the persecution of Christians in Egypt. Protestors also accused the government of not sending enough troops to the village to control the situation. Holding up crosses and signs, the protestors shouted the name of Jesus and chanted, "We need our church."
Soldiers armed with AK-47s with fixed-sheathed bayonets held the crowd back from the building as several priests took turns addressing the crowd. When the Giza parish priest, Bishop Anba Theodosius, said the army had pledged to rebuild the church but would not give a written guarantee of the promise, the crowd became enraged and pushed through the line of soldiers.
No one was injured in the push. More protests about the attack continued Tuesday in Cairo.
Youaqeem said the attack has devastated and enraged the Coptic community, but he sees hope.
"As they say – 'All things work to the good of those who love the Lord,'" he said.
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Threat of Return to Hindu State in Nepal Looms
With deadline for new constitution approaching, Christians fear end of secular government.
KATHMANDU, Nepal, March 30 (CDN) — Four years after Nepal became officially secular, fear is growing that the country could revert to the Hindu state it was till 2006, when proclaiming Christ was a punishable offense and many churches functioned clandestinely to avoid being shut down.
Concerns were heightened after Nepal's deposed King Gyanendra Shah, once regarded as a Hindu god, broke the silence he has observed since Nepal abolished monarchy in 2008. During his visit to a Hindu festival this month, the former king said that monarchy was not dead and could make a comeback if people so desired.
Soon after that, Krishna Prasad Bhattarai, a former prime minister and respected leader of the largest ruling party, said that instead of getting a new constitution, Nepal should revive an earlier one. The 1990 constitution declared Nepal a Hindu kingdom with a constitutional monarch.
There is now growing doubt that the ruling parties will not be able to fashion the new constitution they promised by May.
"We feel betrayed," said Dr. K.B. Rokaya, general secretary of the National Council of Churches of Nepal. "The Constituent Assembly we elected to give us a new constitution that would strengthen democracy and secularism has frittered away the time and opportunity given to it."
The clamor for a Hindu state has been growing as the May 28 deadline for the new constitution draws near. When a Hindu preacher, Kalidas Dahal, held a nine-day prayer ritual in Kathmandu this month seeking reinstatement of Hinduism as the state religion, thousands of people flocked to him. The throng included three former prime ministers and top leaders of the ruling parties.
"The large turnout signals that Hinduism is enshrined in the hearts of the people and can't be abolished by the government," said Hridayesh Tripathi, a former minister and Constituent Assembly member whose Terai Madhes Loktantrik Party is the fifth-largest in the ruling alliance. "It was a mistake to abolish Hinduism in a hurry."
Another blow for a Hindu state was struck by the Rastriya Prajatantra Party-Nepal (RPP-N), the only party that fought the 2008 election in support of monarchy and a Hindu state. It is now calling for a referendum. As a pressure tactic, it paralyzed the capital and its two neighboring cities in February by calling a general strike.
"The election gave the Constituent Assembly the mandate of writing a new constitution, not deciding issues of national importance," said Kamal Thapa, the RPP-N chief who also was home minister during the brief government headed by Gyanendra. "Most people in Nepal want a Hindu state and a constitutional king. If their demand is not heeded, they will feel excluded and refuse to follow the new constitution. We are asking the government to hold a referendum on the two issues before May 28."
With only two months left, it is clear the demand can't be met if the constitution is to come into effect within the stipulated time. Now the specter of anarchy and violence hangs over Nepal.
Nepal's Maoists, who fought a 10-year war to make Nepal a secular republic and who remain the former king's most bitter enemy, say attempts have begun to whip up riots in the name of a Hindu state. The former guerrillas also allege that the campaign for the restoration of Hinduism as the state religion is backed by ministers, politicians from the ruling parties and militant religious groups from India.
Effectively Hindu
Even if a new, secular constitution is approved by the deadline, there is still no guarantee that the rights of religious minorities would be protected.
Nilambar Acharya, who heads the committee that is drafting the new constitution, said it would be merely a broad guideline for the government; compatible laws would have to be drafted to protect rights.
"The previous constitution abolished 'untouchability' [a practice among Hindus of treating those at the bottom of the social ladder as outcasts]," Acharya told Compass. "But untouchability still exists in Nepal. To achieve all that the constitution promises, the mindset of society has to be changed first. For that, you need political will."
Though Nepal became secular in 2006, Hinduism still gets preferential treatment. The state allocates funds for institutions like the Kumari, the tradition of choosing prepubescent girls as protective deities of the state and worshipping them as "living goddesses." The state also gave money to organizers of a controversial, five-yearly religious festival, the Gadhimai Fair, where tens of thousands of birds are slaughtered as offerings to Hindu gods despite international condemnation.
There is no support, predictably, for Christian festivals. When the Constituent Assembly was formed – partly though election and partly by nomination – no Christian name was proposed even though the prime minister was authorized to nominate members from unrepresented communities.
Christian leaders want such religious bias abolished. Rokaya of the National Council of Churches of Nepal said Christians have recommended full freedom of religion in the new constitution: allowing one to follow the religion of one's choice, to change one's religion if desired or have the right not to be associated with any religion.
The churches have also asked the state not to interfere in religious matters.
"We are asking the government not to fund any religious activity, not to be part of any religious appointments and not to allow public land for any religious event," Rokaya said.
The recommendations, however, may not be heeded. During their brief stint in power, the Maoists tried to stop state assistance for the Kumari. It led to violence and a general strike in the capital, forcing the party to withdraw the decision.
In its 2009 report on religious freedom in Nepal, the U.S. Department of State notes that while the interim constitution officially declared the country secular, "the president, in his capacity as head of state, attended major Hindu religious ceremonies over which the king previously presided."
It also notes that there were reports of societal abuses and discrimination based on religious affiliation, belief, or practice.
"Those who converted to a different religious group occasionally faced violence and were ostracized socially," it states. "Those who chose to convert to other religious groups, in particular Hindu citizens who converted to Islam or Christianity, were sometimes ostracized. They occasionally faced isolated incidents of hostility or discrimination from Hindu extremist groups. Some reportedly were forced to leave their villages."
Dr. Ramesh Khatri, executive director of Association for Theological Education in Nepal, has experienced such persecution first-hand. When he became a Christian in 1972, his father disowned him. Then in 1984 he was arrested for holding a Bible camp. Though the case against him was dropped in 1990 after a pro-democracy movement, Khatri said hatred of Christians still persists.
"Christians can never sleep peacefully at night," he said wryly. "The new constitution will make Nepal another India, where Christians are persecuted in Orissa, Gujarat and Karnataka." The Oxford University-educated Khatri, who writes a column in a Nepali daily, said violent responses to his articles show how Nepal still regards its Christians.
"I am attacked as a 'Rice Christian,'" he said. "It is a derogatory term implying I converted for material benefits. The antagonistic feeling society has towards Christians will not subside with the new constitution, and we can't expect an easy life. The Bible says that, and the Bible is true."
Christians continue to face persecution and harassment. In March, missions resource organization Timeless Impact International (TII) noted that a church in northern Nepal, near the foothills of Mt. Everest, was attacked by a local mob.
The newly established church in Dolakha district was attacked during a fellowship meeting in January. An ethnic mob headed by religious leaders destroyed the church meeting place, assaulted participants and warned them not to speak about Christianity in the village, TII said.
The situation, even now, remained unchanged.
"None of the church members have been able to return to their homes," TII stated. "They feel completely unsafe and at risk."
Posted in Christianity, Hinduism, India, Nepal, USA	| Tagged 1972, 1984, 1990, 2006, 2008, able, abolished, abuses, achieve, activity, affiliation, allege, alliance, allocates, anarchy, angry, antagonistic, appointments, approaching, arrested, articles, assaulted, assistance, associated, Association for Theological Education in Nepal, attacked, attempts, attended, authorized, avoid, backed, being, belief, benefits, betrayed, bias, Bible, birds, bitter, blow, bottom, brief, broad, calling, camp, campaign, capacity, capital, ceremonies, changed, chief, choice, choosing, chose, Christ, Christian, Christianity, Christians, church, churches, cities, citizens, clamor, clandestinely, column, comeback, committee, communities, compatible, completely, condemnation, Constituent Assembly, constitution, constitutional, controversial, convert, converted, country, daily, dead, deadline, deciding, decision, declared, deities, democracy, deposed, derogatory, desired, despite, destroyed, different, Discrimination, disowned, district, Dolakha, Dr, drafting, dropped, during, educated, effect, effectively, elected, election, end, enemy, enshrined, established, ethnic, excluded, executive director, exists, experienced, extremist, faced, fashion, fear, feeling, fellowship, festival, first-hand, flocked, follow, foothills, forced, forcing, formed, former, fought, freedom of religion, frittered, functioned, fund, funds, Gadhimai Fair, gave, general, General Secretary, girls, God, goddesses, gods, government, group, groups, growing, guarantee, guerrillas, guideline, Gujarat, Gyanendra Shah, hangs, harassment, hared, head of state, headed, heads, hearts, heeded, Hindu, Hinduism, Hindus, holding, Home Minister, homes, hostility, Hridayesh Tripathi, implying, importance, incidents, included, India, institutions, interfere, interim, international, Islam, isolated, issues, K B Rokaya, Kalidas Dahal, Kamal Thapa, Karnataka, Kathmandu, king, Krishna Prasad Bhattarai, Kumari, ladder, land, largest, laws, leader, leave, living, looms, major, make, mandate, Maoists, material, matters, member, members, merely, militant, mindset, minister, minorities, missions, mistake, mob, monarchy, money, movement, Mt. Everest, Muslim, muslims, national, National Council of Churches of Nepal, neighboring, Nepal, Nepali, new, newly, night, Nilambar Acharya, nominate, nomination, northern, offense, offerings, officially, opportunity, organization, Orissa, ostracized, outcasts, Oxford, paralyzed, part, participants, party, peacefully, people, persecuted, Persecution, persists, place, political, politicians, power, practice, prayer, preacher, preferential, prepubescent, presided, pressure, Prime Minister, pro-democracy, proclaiming, promised, promises, proposed, protected, protective, public, punishable, Ramesh Khatri, Rastriya Prajatantra Party-Nepal, recommendations, recommended, referendum, refuse, regarded, reinstatement, religion, religious, religious freedom, remain, remained, Republic, resource, respected, responses, restoration, return, revert, revive, Rice Christian, right, rights, riots, risk, ritual, RPP-N, ruling, secular, secularism, seeking, shut-down, signals, situation, slaughtered, sleep, social, socially, societal, Society, speak, state, stint, stipulated, stop, strengthen, strike, struck, subside, support, tactic, Terai Madhes Loktantrik Party, term, threat, throng, TII, time, Timeless Impact International, tradition, treating, treatment, tried, true, U.S. Department of State, unchanged, unrepresented, unsafe, untouchability, village, villages, violence, War, warned, whip, will, withdraw, worshipping, writes, writing | Leave a comment
EGYPT: VIOLENCE AGAIN ERUPTS OVER QUEST FOR WORSHIP SITE
Two Copts wounded in Minya province over plan to use building as church venue.
ISTANBUL July 31 (Compass Direct News) – The recent eruption of sectarian violence in Egypt's Minya province continued last week as local Christians again faced harsh reprisals from Muslims for trying to convert a building into a worship facility.
On July 24 security forces in the village of Hawasliya were able to prevent a crowd of Muslims, which numbered in the hundreds according to some reports, from torching the building. But the mob succeeded in setting fire to four neighboring stables, killing sheep and cows belonging to Copts.
During the melee two Copts, including an elderly woman, were wounded. Both received hospital treatment.
"When Muslims see that Christians are making a church, they get upset about it," said Teresa Kamal, a local journalist. "Why are people full of hate like this? Something has happened to radicalize the people."
Pastor Milad Shehata, 39, heads up the project to convert the four-story property into a church building. He told Compass that the village's Protestant Christians had no other place to worship.
"I have no intention of leaving this place at any price," said Shehata. "This place has been built from the sweat and hard-earned money of very poor people. Even if I or my family is killed, it doesn't matter. I will not leave this place."
Shehata had begun to refurbish the building to accommodate church meetings and was planning to apply for permission to use it as a place of worship before holding services on the premises.
On July 23, officers investigating complaints from Muslim villagers about two crosses Shehata had installed on the outside of the building took him to the local police station. After questioning, they released him with orders to return the next morning. At that time two policemen escorted him to the main prison in Minya, where he was held without charge until Saturday afternoon (July 25).
"I don't know why I was arrested," said Shehata. "I was there for 37 hours, but no one even gave me even a cup of water."
Since the attack on July 24, elders from the Muslim community have extended the offer of a reconciliation meeting on condition the church is never opened.
"There is no point in holding a reconciliation meeting if we have to close the church," said Shehata. "The church is the whole point."
Recent Troubles
There have long been drafts of a unified law for the building of places of worship in Egypt aimed at resolving recurrent conflicts faced by new churches. Such legislation, however, has been consistently passed over in parliamentary sessions.
Human rights lawyer Naguib Gobraiel said there was a stark contrast between the freedom to practice religion given to Muslims and that afforded to Christians.
"Muslims can put a mat down anywhere and pray and no one objects," he said, pointing out the contrast with Christians' inability to secure worship sites. "Why do they differentiate? It implies that we can't have private prayers."
The July 24 incident marks the fourth time in as many weeks that planned new church buildings have sparked violent responses from inhabitants of villages surrounding the city of Minya.
Despite the recent high incidents of sectarian strife, Minya Gov. Ahmad Dia'a El-Din told Compass that inter-faith relations are not as strained as they may seem.
"These kinds of attacks are not as frequent as some people imagine," he said. "They are not happening night and day. The proof is the businesses – you find many shops owned by Copts. People live together and Copts are wealthy, they are doing fine business."
El-Din seemed eager to demonstrate that he led by example.
"I personally work closely with Christian people and have good relationships with them," he said. "I harbor no personal animosity."
Gobraiel, however, was not impressed.
"The governorate of Minya has the highest level of radicalization and intolerance," he said. "The governor has totally failed in tackling this issue from all different aspects – education, media, culture and security."
Posted in Christianity, Egypt, Islam, Orthodox	| Tagged ;province, accommodate, afforded, aimed, animosity, apply, arrested, aspects, attack, belonging, building, built, business, businesses, charge, Christian, Christianity, Christians, church, churches, city, close, closely, community, complaints, conflicts, consistently, continued, contrast, convert, Copts, cows, crosses, crowd, culture, Cup, Day, demonstrate, Dia'a El-Din, different, differentiate, drafts, eager, education, Egypt, elderly, elders, eruption, erupts, escorted, example, extended, faced, facility, failed, family, fire, forces, four-story, freedom, frequent, full, good, Gov, governor, governorate, happened, happening, harbor, hard-earned, harsh, hate, Hawasliya, heads, high, highest, holding, hospital, human rights, imagine, implies, impressed, inability, incident, including, inhabitants, installed, intention, inter-faith, intolerance, investigating, Islam, issue, journalist, killed, killing, kind, law, lawyer, leaving, led, legislation, level, live, local, main, making, mat, media, meeting, meetings, melee, Milad Shehata, Minya, mob, money, Muslim, muslims, Naquib Gobraiel, neighboring, new, night, objects, offer, officers, opened, orders, outside, owned, parliamentary, passed, Pastor, people, permission, Persecution, personal, personally, place, plan, planned, planning, police station, policemen, poor, practice, pray, prayers, premises, prevent, price, prison, private, project, proof, property, Protestant, quest, questioning, radicalization, radicalize, received, recent, reconciliation, recurrent, refurbish, relations, relationships, released, religion, reprisals, resolving, responses, return, sectarian, secure, security, seemed, services, sessions, setting, sheep, shops, site, sites, sparked, stables, stark, strained, succeeded, surrounding, sweat, tackling, Teresa Kamal, together, torching, totally, treatment, troubles, trying, unified, upset, venue, village, villagers, violence, violent, water, wealthy, whole, woman, work, worship, wounded | Leave a comment
HUMANITARIAN GROUPS WARN OF REFUGEE CRISIS LOOMING IN PAKISTAN
As Pakistan continues its press on the Taliban, thousands are fleeing the Swat Valley. A brief lull in the violence over the weekend saw many people loading their families and possessions into anything that moved in order to leave the area, reports MNN.
A "peace" pact with the Taliban broke down 11 days ago when security forces began an assault to push the militants back into their territory. The rebels, well-established in their stronghold, had begun to encroach upon Islamabad in a blatant grab for land and power.
The result when the two forces met was volatile. The government is now preparing for up to 500,000 internal refugees, the largest displacement crisis in Pakistan's history.
Even when the refugees arrive at refugee camps, it's not a guarantee of safety or comfort. Jacob Kramer is with the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee. He says,"These camps are now full. New places will have to be made in order to help them and have an opportunity to distribute the most essential things to maintain life."
It's hot, overcrowded, and there are inadequate sanitation facilities as well as a lack of electricity. Add to that: diseases and a lack of medical help, and the situation deteriorates quickly. Kramer says their teams are mobilizing. "We've been in contact with our partners, and they are trying to get a more detailed picture so that we can start with food and non-food responses to help the people."
CRWRC reaches out in God's name to people who are struggling with poverty, hunger, disaster, and injustice to help them find lasting ways to improve their lives.
The teams are the hands and feet of Christ in this horrific situation. Kramer urges people to "pray for the people, that God's grace may abide with them and peace may return as soon as possible. This is a population which has been tormented from so many sides, so often, that they are highly-affected by trauma."
Posted in Christianity, Islam, Pakistan, Taliban, War on Terror	| Tagged assault, blatant, camps, Christ, Christian Reformed World Relief Committee, comfort, contact, crisis, detailed, deteriorates, disaster, diseases, displacement, distribute, electricity, encroach, essential, facilities, families, feet, food, forces, full, government, grab, grace, groups, guarantee, hands, help, History, horrific, hot, humanitarian, hunger, improve, inadequate, injustice, internal, Islamabad, land, largest, life, lives, loading, looming, maintain, medical, militants, mobilizing, opportunity, overcroded, pact, Pakistan, partners, peace, picture, population, possessions, poverty, power, preparing, rebels, refugee, responses, result, safety, sanitation, security, situation, stronghold, struggling, Swat Valley, Taliban, teams, territory, things, tormented, trauma, violence, volatile, warn | Leave a comment
KIWIS LACK SENSE OF HUMOUR
A Blog site called 'Fush 'n' Chups – a guide for Australians to living and working in New Zealand,' has been copping a fair bit of criticism of late. The controversy over the site has also appeared in newspapers, including this morning's 'Daily Telegraph' in Sydney, Australia.
The site's resident Blogger likes to have a bit of a dig at our Kiwi (New Zealand) neighbours, which appears to be typical of Australian tongue in cheek humour. However, the New Zealanders have been getting a little hot under the collar and have been posting a number of aggressive responses in their comments on the Blog and its various posts. The owner of the site believes that New Zealanders need to develop a sense of humour.
Perhaps he is right. Visit the site at:
http://fushnchups.co.nz
Posted in Australia, Blogging, New Zealand, news, Sydney	| Tagged aggressive, appeared, appears, Australia, Australians, believes, bit, Blog, blogger, called, comments, controversy, copping, criticism, Daily Telegraph, develop, DIG, fair, Fush 'n' Chups, guide, hot under the collar, including, Kiwi, Kiwis, lack, likes, little, living, neighbours, New Zealand, New Zealanders, newspapers, owner, posting, posts, resident, responses, right, sense of humour, site, Sydney, tongue in cheek, typical, various, visit, working | Leave a comment
LUTHERANS MIGHT ALLOW PASTORS TO BE IN HOMOSEXUAL RELATIONSHIPS
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America released proposals Thursday, Feb. 19, that seek to change Christian teaching on homosexuality and would permit pastors to be in same-sex sexual relationships, reports LifeSiteNews.com.
In response, leaders of Lutheran CORE (Coalition for Reform) announced Thursday that they will work to defeat the proposals that ask the ELCA to depart from biblical teaching on sexuality.
Lutheran CORE is a coalition of pastors, lay people, congregations and reforming groups that seeks to preserve the authority of the Bible in the ELCA.
"These recommendations mark a significant departure from the church's commitment to Scripture as the source and norm of its faith and life," said the Rev. Paull Spring of State College, Pa., chair of the Lutheran CORE Steering Committee.
"The proposal for change in standards for clergy departs from the clear teaching of Scripture," said Spring, the retired bishop of the Northwestern Pennsylvania Synod.
Responses to a 2004 study on homosexuality showed that a significant majority of ELCA members (57 percent) opposed change to accepted Christian teaching on homosexual behavior. Only 22 percent of ELCA members favored change in church teaching to allow for the blessing of same-sex unions or the ordination of practicing homosexuals.
Posted in Bible, Christianity, Homosexuality, Lutheran, USA	| Tagged 2004, accepted, allow, announced, authority, behavior, Bible, Biblical, bishop, blessing, chair, change, Christian, Christianity, Christians, clear, clergy, Coalition, committment, congregations, defeat, depart, departs, departure, ELCA, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, faith, favored, groups, homosexual, Homosexuality, homosexuals, lay people, leaders, life, Lutheran Coalition for Reform, Lutheran CORE, Lutheran CORE Steering Committee, majority, mark, members, might, norm, northwestern, Northwestern Pennsylvania Synod, opposed, ordination, pastors, Paull Spring, Pennsylvania, permit, practicing, preserve, proposals, recommendations, reforming, relationships, released, response, responses, retired, same-sex, Scripture, seek, seeks, sexual, sexuality, showed, significant, source, standards, State College, study, teaching, unions, work | 1 Comment


One of the side effects of the financial crisis was that growth cycles across the world that had converged leading up to 2008, became untethered in the ensuing aftermath. We recall listening to an economist in the summer of 2006 wax poetic about how the 66 largest economies in the world were enjoying a historic and synchronized expansion. Naturally, his takeaway was broadly bullish - implying a sturdy and broad foundation was extended beneath the markets. While that was exceedingly true at that time, his observation of the cycle resonated for us in a very different way. If everyone was expanding on the same growth wave, the inevitable contraction would be greatly magnified. We found the statement so poignant, it remained written across the top of a whiteboard in our office for several years.
These same wave principals are taught in your high school physics class as a phenomenon known as constructive interference. When two waves of identical wavelength are in phase, they form a new wave with an amplitude equal to the sum of their individual amplitudes. Conversely, when two waves of identical wavelength are out of phase, they cancel each other out completely. Often, it's a combination of varying degrees of both destructive and constructive interference that determines the composite structure of the new wave - or in this case, the aggregate cycle of the largest economies in the world that had become highly synchronized. Needless to say, our greatest fears in the market were realized just two years later as momentum was translated and magnified sharply lower during the financial crisis.
Back in the spring of 2011, we created a video around this concept (see Here) - that also played on the interventive policies that the financial system were increasingly reliant on. For us, Constructive Interference took on new meaning - which was summed up with three progressive assumptions at the end of the video.
The current financial system requires Constructive Interference by the worlds major central banks - the Federal Reserve acting as the principal director of policy and practice.
Consolidation within the financial sector (i.e. Too Big to Fail) in the last 30 years has enabled central banks with the infrastructure to administer reflationary policies efficiently and with greater efficacy during illiquid periods of contraction.
The cumulative effects of Constructive Interference within the financial system has led to increased speculation, frequent financial bubbles and confidence within the monetary system to react (i.e. moral hazard).
It should be noted that from the cheap seats of the peanut gallery, we certainly would not have chosen or advocated the TBTF system and policy path that was taken over the past three decades. However, from a pragmatic perspective - it is the framework the system funneled towards and which greatly governs conditions in the markets today. Example being, while it's a step in the right direction requiring banks to significantly expand their capital cushions - for better and worse, we don't expect these enormous institutions to be dismantled any time soon. The dirty little secret: when it comes to administrating monetary policy - the bigger the better, i.e. easier. Subjugating that reality with counterfactual arguments has practically become a rite of passage for many journalists (e.g. Matt Taibbi) and pundits - and painful in the purse for those participants that have carried a strong bias with expectations of an even greater crisis in the future. Ever superior to ones opinion, it simply is what it is.
While the crisis exposed the catastrophic dangers of the TBTF model, the massive pipes that were built through consolidation, did help quickly flood the system during and subsequent to the crisis. Would a dendritic banking system have been safer or failed with less collateral damages as the new paradigm? Certainly. Growth would have been constricted, more moderate, less synchronized - and therefore less amplified on both sides of this cycle. However, in many ways it's an anthropologic chicken-or-the-egg debate on markets and capitalism, that we suspect was as inevitable as it was predictable. Free will be damned, we cynically arrive at our collective and predetermined destination.
Works for us - and once again on this side of the cycle's trough, we can only speculate as to what the catalyst for the next era of growth will be and when to realistically expect it. Our best guesstimate, however, is that Hansen's transitional divide will extend much longer than most participants expect, as we bounce along the bottom of the trough. We speculated going into this year, the structure and performance extremes that were quickly translated at both the top (12/13') and bottom (7/12') in 10-year yields, might be implying a long-term range was being established as the great inertias of the secular trend in Treasuries entered the trough of the cycle.
Michael's chart - which shows that the trends in 10-year yields and the number of months in the fed fund futures market to reach the implied rate of 0.5%, were quite correlated going into 2014. Similar to the trend gap that now exists between 5 and 10-year yields, the shorter more impressionable end of the market continues to err on the side of sooner rather than later, when it comes to rate hike expectations over the next year. As framed in the Bloomberg chart and illustrated in the roadmap of the last transitional divide (see Here), we believe long-term yields are pointing the way when it comes to rate hikes over the next several years. All things considered, we still like long-term Treasuries - especially relative to the US equity markets.
In the equity markets, we suspect it will increasingly becoming a market-pickers market between the four different food groups (US, Europe, China & Japan), with sub-varieties tangent to choice. As mentioned in previous notes, despite instigating the catalyst for the crisis, the US had a head start of working and digging the fire lines, that eventually brought the economic disaster under control first. Relative to what the balance of the worlds major central banks were willing and capable of extending - and with the Fed acting as the policy lead, the differential of capital flows has disproportionally supported our equity markets and the dollar since the crisis spread in the summer of 2008. Are the US markets in a bubble today? In our opinion it's a semantic debate, but one we do believe has greater contrast than comparison between the two previous equity bubbles and their respective downturns.
US coasts away from QE, the shear stresses that engendered a broad based positive skew in the US equity markets and dollar, should diminish over time. Although it's a short window to measure, from a relative performance perspective, we have already seen as much since QE wrapped up in the US last month.
For everyone in the States and traveling this weekend, have a happy and safe Thanksgiving.


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Kuwait flag registered as world's longest in Guinness Records
The world's longest flag of the State of Kuwait
Photo feature by Ghazi Qaffaf
KUWAIT, Feb 12 (KUNA) -- A remote-controlled plane pulled the world's longest flag, of the State of Kuwait, in a show held at Mina Abdullah Area, southeast of Kuwait, on Friday.
A team from the Guinness World Records attended the air show and registered the flag as the world's longest. (end) gq.bs

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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text:
Ms. Lu Yaxuan Persecuted Numerous Times
December 24, 2010 | By a Clearwisdom correspondent from Jilin Province, China
Name: Lu Yaxuan (吕雅轩)
Address: Unknown
Occupation: Former nurse at the Tuberculosis Hospital at Jilin Province
Date of Most Recent Arrest: November 28, 2002
Most Recent Place of Detention: Changchun Women's Prison (长春市女监)
City: Jiutai, Changchun
Province: Jilin
Persecution Suffered: Electric shock, sleep deprivation, forced labor, illegal sentencing, beatings, imprisonment, torture, extortion, fired from workplace, physical restraint, interrogation, detention, denial of restroom use
Key Persecutors: Policeman Yu Hongwu from Nanshan Road Police Station in Jiutai, Jiutai Police Department, Changchun Police Department, Jiutai Court, Changchun Middle Court
(九台市南山街派出所于洪武, 九台市公安局, 长春市公安局, 九台市法院, 长春市中级法院)
(Clearwisdom.net) Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Lu Yaxuan has been tortured severely during the past ten years of brutal persecution by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). She was illegally detained six times, sent to a forced labor camp once, and sentenced to prison once.
On May 19, 2000, Ms. Lu went to Beijing to appeal for justice for Falun Gong. Right after she returned home, she was arrested by policeman Yu Hongwu from the Nanshan Road Police Station in Jiutai, and sent to a detention center. Two days later, hospital president Jia Shuhua, clerk Zhao Shuhua, record clerk Xing Jie, Shi Jingtang, and personnel from the Tuberculosis Hospital in Jilin Province went to Ms. Lu's home. Jia Shuhua made Ms. Lu sign a termination notification letter. The communist party committee decided to fire Ms. Lu from work.
On June 22, 2000, Ms. Lu went to Beijing, where she was again arrested by personnel from the Changchun Liaison Office and then detained in a hotel. Two policemen from the Political Affairs and Defense Section of the Jiutai Police Department took her back to Jiutai. Ms. Lu was detained at the Jiutai Detention Center for ten days, and was sent to a forced labor camp for a year. She was forced to work for 16 to 20 hours a day without a midday break.
After Ms. Lu was released from the forced labor camp, she worked as a temporary employee with a former employer. In August of 2001, Ms. Lu and other female Falun Gong practitioners had 200 yuan confiscated from them by two policemen while clarifying the truth in the residential area of Yingkuang.
On the morning of September 22, 2001, Yu Hongwu and another policeman from the Nanshan Road Police Station in Jiutai went to the hospital where Ms. Lu worked. They tried to make Ms. Lu write a guarantee letter, but Ms. Lu refused. Yu Hongwu got angry, and he and two other policemen dragged Ms. Lu down the stairs by her feet. Ms. Lu's head hit the stairs and made a loud noise. She shouted, "The police are wrongfully arresting people!" Employees from the first and second floor went to the stairs to look. Ms. Lu was dragged from the third floor all the way down to the police car outside. She was taken to the Nanshan Road Police Station and was detained for six hours.
At 11:00 p.m. on September 28, 2001, about five policemen from the Political Affairs and Defense Section of the city police department went to Ms. Lu's home intending to arrest her. However, she was not home. The policemen said they would go back the next day and parked a police car behind her building to monitor her. Ms. Lu was forced to stay away from home in order to avoid being arrested.
In the mid-morning of November 28, 2002, Ms. Lu was arrested on the sixth floor of a residential building by Li Dahai, and five other policemen from the Political Affairs and the Defense Section of the Jiutai Police Department. She was dragged to the police car and taken to the first floor in the Jiutai Police Department building. Policemen covered Ms. Lu's head with a coat, and punched and kicked her. They tied her up on the tiger bench. They tied her feet and forced them downward, tied her hands and pulled them upward, and then they placed a metal bar on her hands and pressed them downward. Ms. Lu's arms suffered severe nerve damage, and she could not lift her left arm for several months.
That night, section chief Liu from the Changchun Police Department and two other policemen interrogated Ms. Lu. Liu punched Ms. Lu in the temple, knocking her unconscious. They poured cold water on Ms. Lu to wake her up. Then policeman Qu Chunsen came in, sneered and asked her, "How was it?" Ms. Lu did not say anything. Ms. Lu was tortured for nearly 30 hours, during which time she was not allowed to eat, drink, or use the bathroom. Ms. Lu was sent to the Jiutai Detention Center on November 29.
On November 7, 2003, the Jiutai Court planned to unlawfully sentence Ms. Lu. At 7:00 that morning, a group of policemen went into the women's ward and started to drag Ms. Lu out. Ms. Lu resisted. The policemen then dragged and beat her at the same time. By the time she was dragged outside, her coat and sweaters had both come off. Several policemen used rope as thick as a finger to bind her. Her hands were cuffed behind her and she was carried into the police car. Once they got to the courthouse, Ms. Lu started to shout, and several policemen started beating her. A policeman punched her in the mouth, knocking out one of her front teeth. A policeman behind her strangled her neck with a rope and she could not breathe. They pulled her into a room and started the hearing. Ms. Lu was not allowed to talk or defend herself. Several policemen stood next to her. They would punch and shock her with an electric baton if she made a sound. Ms. Lu sat on the floor because she could not get up after all the beatings. She was sentenced to eight years in prison.
Ms. Lu appealed the sentence, and the Changchun Middle Court convened on January 9, 2004. However, they did not change her sentence. They immediately sent Ms. Lu to the Changchun Women's Prison. They did not allow Ms. Lu's family to visit her or to send any clothing for her.
"Several Falun Gong Practitioners in Xinjiang Repeatedly Arrested and Sentenced"
"Vancouver Practitioners Express Concern about Singapore Case"


The Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD) from The National Map (TNM) defines the perimeter of drainage areas formed by the terrain and other landscape characteristics. The drainage areas are nested within each other so that a large drainage area, such as the Upper Mississippi River, is composed of multiple smaller drainage areas, such as the Wisconsin River. Each of these smaller areas can further be subdivided into smaller and smaller drainage areas. The WBD uses six different levels in this hierarchy, with the smallest averaging about 30,000 acres. The WBD is made up of polygons nested into six levels of data respectively defined by Regions, Subregions, Basins, Subbasins, Watersheds, and Subwatersheds. For additional information on the WBD, go to https://nhd.usgs.gov/wbd.html. The USGS National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) service is a companion dataset to the WBD. The NHD is a comprehensive set of digital spatial data that encodes information about naturally occurring and constructed bodies of surface water (lakes, ponds, and reservoirs), paths through which water flows (canals, ditches, streams, and rivers), and related entities such as point features (springs, wells, stream gages, and dams). The information encoded about these features includes classification and other characteristics, delineation, geographic name, position and related measures, a "reach code" through which other information can be related to the NHD, and the direction of water flow. The network of reach codes delineating water and transported material flow allows users to trace movement in upstream and downstream directions. In addition to this geographic information, the dataset contains metadata that supports the exchange of future updates and improvements to the data. The NHD is available nationwide in two seamless datasets, one based on 1:24,000-scale maps and referred to as high resolution NHD, and the other based on 1:100,000-scale maps and referred to as medium resolution NHD. Additional selected areas in the United States are available based on larger scales, such as 1:5,000-scale or greater, and referred to as local resolution NHD. For more information on the NHD, go to https://nhd.usgs.gov/index.html. Hydrography data from The National Map supports many applications, such as making maps, geocoding observations, flow modeling, data maintenance, and stewardship. Hydrography data is commonly combined with other data themes, such as boundaries, elevation, structures, and transportation, to produce general reference base maps. The National Map viewer allows free downloads of public domain WBD and NHD data in either Esri File or Personal Geodatabase, or Shapefile formats.
The Watershed Boundary Dataset is being developed under the leadership of the Subcommittee on Spatial Water Data, which is part of the Advisory Committee on Water Information (ACWI) and the Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC). The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), along with many other federal agencies and national associations, have representatives on the Subcommittee on Spatial Water Data.
As watershed boundary geographic information systems (GIS) coverages are completed, statewide and national data layers will be made available via the Geospatial Data Gateway to everyone, including federal, state, local government agencies, researchers, private companies, utilities, environmental groups, and concerned citizens. The database will assist in planning and describing water use and related land use activities.


The Sunshine Report goes out at the beginning of each month and includes updates on the work of the Coalition, summaries of the most significant open government stories of the previous month and greater explanations of current hot topics.
VCOG's August e-newsletter is online!
The June issue of the Sunshine Report is now online.
The April 2011 edition of the Sunshine Report is online now.
The March 2011 edition of the Sunshine Report is online now.
The September issue of the Sunshine Report is online.
The FOI Advisory Council heard about three bills that might surface in the 2010 General Assembly session at its annual Legislative Preview meeting.
The FOI Advisory Council's subcommittee on Public Records decided not to take any action on a proposal by the Prince William County Schools (PWCS) to exempt from disclosure data collected by its Visitor Identification System (VIS).
In a proposed measure endorsed by the the FOI Advisory Council, FOIA would gain an exemption for the account numbers of personal and government credit cards, debit cards, bank accounts and other accounts with financial institutions.
The council's action came upon the recommendation of its Personal Identifying Information Subcommittee (PII), which met several times this summer and fall to consider several bills referred to it by the 2009 General Assembly.


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Q: NEW feature labels for updated or newly added features in the app UI I have developed a simple app in Xamarin.Forms. Now I am pushing new updates regularly, and I want to inform the app users about the new features. I have seen the NEWlabels on top of new features in UI that appear for a while. (See in the screenshot below).
I want to implement the same label for my app but don't know how to do it.
I have one way to add labels manually to all features I have implemented recently and add a trigger to hide them after people interact with these features. But I think this is a heavy method to add these labels to all features. Is there a proper way?
Note: I use Microsoft App center for app deployment to users.

A: For example:
Here is the page you will add a new label later.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
<ContentPage xmlns="http://xamarin.com/schemas/2014/forms"
         xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2009/xaml"
         x:Class="NewForms.Page12">
    <ContentPage.Content>
        <StackLayout x:Name ="stacklayout">
           <Label Text="Welcome to Xamarin.Forms!"
              VerticalOptions="CenterAndExpand"
              HorizontalOptions="CenterAndExpand" />

        </StackLayout>
    </ContentPage.Content>
</ContentPage>

public YourPage()
    {
        InitializeComponent();
        MessagingCenter.Subscribe<YourPage>(this, "Add New Label", (sender) =>
        {
            // Do something whenever the "Add New Label" message is received
            Label newLabel = new Label() { Text = "new feature label" };
            stacklayout.Children.Add(newLabel );
        });
    }

Suppose this is the callback method that you received a push:
void receive(){
   MessagingCenter.Send<YourPage>(this, "Add New Label");
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Q: SQL Server : How to get same "parent" value for all children In my table I have 3 columns like below:

No.        | Type   |   Amount
-------------------------------
110200014  |    A   | 19,259.00
110200014  |    D   | -802.46
110200014  |    D   | -1,604.92

Type A is for parent record, type D is for children record.
As a result in my request I would like all lines to show "19,259.00" in "amount" column. What is important for me is to get that "parent" value for all children

A: ;
WITH cte
AS (
    SELECT *
    FROM TABLE
    WHERE type = 'A'
    )
SELECT cte.Amount, Table.*
FROM TABLE
INNER JOIN cte
    ON TABLE.No = cte.no
WHERE TABLE.type = 'D'

Using the data generated by @ScubaManDan
The following works:
create table #tempTab(Num int,rtype char(1),amount decimal(8,2));

insert into #tempTab values(110200014,'A',19259.00)
insert into #tempTab values(110200014,'D',-802.46)
insert into #tempTab values(110200014,'D',-1604.92)

;WITH cte
AS (
    SELECT *
    FROM #tempTab
    WHERE rtype = 'A'
    )
SELECT cte.Amount, #tempTab.*
FROM #tempTab
INNER JOIN cte
    ON #tempTab.Num = cte.Num
WHERE #tempTab.rtype = 'D'

Produces:
Amount  Num rtype   amount
------------------------------------
19259.00    110200014   D   -802.46
19259.00    110200014   D   -1604.92

A: How about something like this:
create table #tempTab(Num int,rtype char(1),amount decimal(8,2));

insert into #tempTab values
(110200014,'A',19259.00),
(110200014,'D',-802.46),
(110200014,'D',-1604.92)

select *
from #tempTab t
cross apply (select amount from #tempTab where rtype = 'A' and Num = t.Num) pa;


text:
Security Researchers Discover Huge Flaws in E-Voting System
Electronic Frontier Foundation Supports E-Voting Law
San Francisco - In response to today's release of research
about critical security flaws in e-voting systems, the
Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) urged immediate passage
of e-voting legislation to prevent election fraud.
Security researchers at Johns Hopkins University and Rice
University announced today that they have discovered numerous
serious security flaws in what they believe is one of the
leading e-voting systems in the country -- the Diebold
Electron Systems' e-voting terminal.
Among the security flaws discovered were several ways in
which individual voters could vote multiple times in a
given election. The researchers also uncovered methods
permitting voters to "trick" the e-voting machines into
allowing them system administrator privileges or even
terminating an election before tallying all legitimate
votes.
"EFF supports electronic voting, but this report indicates
Diebold's e-voting system isn't ready for prime time," said
EFF Legal Director Cindy Cohn, who advised the security
researchers. "This report describes how voters, election
officials, insiders at e-voting companies, and even
custodians at election locations could manipulate
elections and defraud the public."
"Only with open review, vigorous security testing, and a
voter verifiable paper audit trail can the public have
confidence that e-voting machines will provide an actual
accounting of the will of the people," said EFF Activist
Ren Bucholz. "We urge everyone who cares about democracy to
support effective e-voting legislation."
Concerned citizens can voice their support for
Representative Holt's bill to require open source e-voting
systems and voter verifiable paper audit trails.
E-voting security research report [EFF mirror] (PDF)
EFF action alert on e-voting legislation
New York Times article on e-voting report
Cindy Cohn
cindy@eff.org
+1 415 436-9333 x108 (office)
Ren Bucholz
ren@eff.org
Online Policy Group v. Diebold
Press Release | June 9, 2021
EFF and FSFP to Court: When Flawed Electronic Voting Systems Disenfranchise Voters, They Should Be Able to Challenge That with Access to the Courts
Atlanta, Georgia—The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and Free Speech for People (FSPF) urged a federal appeals court today to hold that a group of Georgia voters and the organization that supports them have standing to sue the Georgia Secretary of State over the implementation of defective voting systems they...
Press Release | November 17, 2020
Computer Security Experts Urge White House to Keep Politics Out of Election Security
San Francisco - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has joined more than three dozen cybersecurity experts and professional security organizations in calling for the White House to keep politics out of securing this month's election. Election security officials and computer security experts must be able to tell the truth...
Deeplinks Blog by Kurt Opsahl | November 16, 2020
Elections Are Partisan Affairs. Election Security Isn't.
An Open Letter on Election SecurityVoting is the cornerstone of our democracy. And since computers are deeply involved in all segments of voting at this point, computer security is vital to the protection of this fundamental right. Everyone needs to be able to trust that the critical infrastructure systems we...
Deeplinks Blog by Cindy Cohn | November 10, 2020
Election Security: When to Worry, When to Not, and the Takeaway from Antrim County, Michigan
Everyone wants an election that is secure and reliable. With technology in the mix, making sure that the technology supports this is critical. EFF has long-warned against blindly adopting technologies that can be easily manipulated or fail without having systems in place to test, secure, and catch problems, including...
Deeplinks Blog by Danny O'Brien | November 8, 2019
With a Raid on Javier Smaldone, Argentinian Authorities Have Restarted Their Harassment of E-Voting Critics
Javier Smaldone is a well-known figure in the Argentinian infosec community. As a security researcher, he's worked to highlight the flaws in electronic voting in Argentina, despite the country's local and federal attempts to move ahead with insecure software and electoral procedures.The Argentinian authorities have a reputation of...
Deeplinks Blog by Adam Schwartz | May 23, 2019
Rep. Thompson Works to Secure Our Elections
Foreign adversaries and domestic dirty tricksters can secretly hack our nation's electronic voting systems. That's why information security experts agree we must go back to basics: paper ballots. We also need "risk-limiting audits," meaning mandatory post-election review of a sample of the paper ballots, to ensure the election-night "official" results...
Deeplinks Blog by Camille Fischer | May 17, 2019
Senator Wyden Leads on Securing Elections Before 2020
Sen. Ron Wyden's new proposal to protect the integrity of U.S. elections, the Protecting American Votes and Elections (PAVE) Act of 2019, takes a much needed step forward by requiring a return to paper ballots.The bill forcefully addresses a grave threat to American democracy—outdated election technologies used in...
Deeplinks Blog by Jacob Hoffman-Andrews | February 4, 2019
No to Online Voting in Virginia
UPDATE February 9 2019: Victory! These bills did not make it out of committee.Experts agree: Internet voting would be an information security disaster. Unfortunately, the Commonwealth of Virginia is considering a pair of bills to experiment with online voting. Pilot programs will do nothing to contradict the...
Deeplinks Blog by Camille Fischer, Shahid Buttar | September 28, 2018
Election Security Remains Just as Vulnerable as in 2016
The ability to vote for local, state, and federal representatives is the cornerstone of democracy in America. With mid-term congressional elections looming in early November, many voices have raised concerns that the voting infrastructure used by states across the Union might be suspect, unreliable, or potentially vulnerable to attacks. As...
Deeplinks Blog by Joe Mullin | August 24, 2018
If It Doesn't Have Paper Backups and Automatic Audits, It's Not an Election Security Bill
Right now, the U.S. Senate is debating an issue that's critical to our democratic future: secure elections. Hacking attacks were used to try to undermine the 2016 U.S. election, and in recent years, elections in Latin America and Ukraine were also subject to cyber attacks.It only makes sense to harden...


Darcie is a Senior Project Manager with Kilpatrick Townsend's LitSmart® E-Discovery Team. In Darcie's 20+ year project management career, she has regularly consulted with attorneys and clients on all phases of the EDRM, project planning, and technical issues regarding e-discovery. Darcie is an expert on a variety of e-discovery software platforms including Relativity, the industry-leading e-discovery platform used in-house by Kilpatrick Townsend. She routinely counsels clients on defensible data preservation strategies and has conducted dozens of onsite collections of both structured and unstructured data sources. Darcie has also served as the court-approved e-discovery expert and liaison for some in the firm's most high profile construction matters. In addition, she is regularly engaged to consult on the employment of Early Case Assessment strategies, analytics, and predictive coding technology as a way to create more efficient, streamlined document reviews. Darcie is also a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) with the experience and expertise to manage cases from inception to closure.
Darcie is a recipient of the firm's Gold Coin for Quality Customer Service Award in 2012. Prior to joining Kilpatrick Townsend, she held management positions with two national Litigation Support vendors.


Where is the Standby Zone located?
The map below shows the location of the new Standby Zone. When driving into Cairns Airport, simply follow the orange Standby Zone signs.
Whilst waiting at the Standby Zone, how can I monitor the flight arrival time of the person I am picking up?
Whilst safely waiting in your vehicle at the Standby Zone, you can use your mobile phone to keep an eye on the flight arrival time by viewing the flight schedules on the Cairns Airport Website here.
My friend has collected their luggage and is on their way out of the terminal, where do I pick them up from?
When your family or friend has collected their luggage and is walking out of the terminal ready to be picked up, you can make your way to the designated public pick up zone out the front of the T1 International or T2 Domestic Terminals to collect them.
What do I do if the Standby Zone is full?
If the Standby Zone is full, please make your way to the T2 Domestic Uncovered or T1 International Budget public car parks where Cairns Airport Parking offers the first 10 minutes free*. You can pre-book your parking online here.
Can I park at the Standby Zone?
The driver must remain in their vehicle at the Standby Zone at all times. Vehicles are not to be left unattended. You can wait at the Standby Zone for a maximum of 30 minutes.


text:
Bedanova reaches semifinals
, England, June 20 (UPI) -- Daja Bedanova of the Czech Republic followed up her upset of top-seeded Jelena Dokic with a win over fifth seed Meghann Shaugnessy of the United States Thursday at the Britannic Asset Management Championships.
Bedanova recorded a 7-6 (8-6), 6-2 victory over Shaughnessy to move into the semifinals for the first time this year.
The 19-year-old Bedanova, who suffered three straight losses before reaching the third round at Birmingham last week, is seeking her second career title. She won at Bratislava in 2000.
Bedanova defeated Dokic in the second round Wednesday.
After the match, the 19-year-old Yugoslavian complained about having to play on a smaller court because 45-year-old Martina Navratilova faced Daniela Hantuchova on Centre Court.
Hantuchova, the third-seeded Slovakian, posted a 2-6, 6-2, 6-2 victory over Navratilova in the second round and followed up with a 7-6 (7-4), 6-1 win over American Amy Frazier.
The 19-year-old Hantuchova, who is seeking her first career title, reached the fourth round at the French Open.
Unseeded American Chanda Rubin advanced to a meeting with Bedanova as she routed fourth-seeded Italian Silvia Farina Elia, 6-1, 6-0. Rubin also reached the fourth round at the French Open and lost in the final at Madrid to Monica Seles.
Russian Anastasia Myskina will face Hantuchova in the semifinals after defeating Luxembourg's Anne Kremer, 6-2, 7-5. Kremer ousted No. 2 Sandrine Testud, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1, in the second round.
The 20-year-old Myskina, who is seeking her second career title, lost to Dokic in the final at Birmingham last week.
Anne Kremer


It's hard to believe that 2015 is right around the corner. Since it is the holiday season and we know that many engagements happen this time of the year, we thought we would close 2014 and start 2015 with some wisdom from our wedding experts.
5. Set a budget: There are so many important aspects to planning a wedding but if you do not set a budget, you really cannot plan accordingly and can get yourself into sticky situations as far as your finances are concerned. One of the first decisions you should make about your wedding is your budget. After that big decision is made, you can really start planning for your wedding.
4. It is never too early to shop for bridal gowns: It can take brides several months to find the perfect dress for their big day. Add to that the time (and a lot of it) that it takes for alterations, and you'll understand why we recommend starting to look for a dress sooner rather than later. There is nothing worse than rushing to make a huge decision. Go early, bring a few friends or family members with you and have fun! We recommend starting to look at least 9 months in advance.
3. Hire a planner: If you have money in the budget, we suggest hiring a planner for your big day. They will take care of a lot of last minute details that can stress out a bride. They will make sure that your day is perfect in every way possible and you won't have to worry about the caterer showing up late or fielding phone calls about electrical outlets.
2. Consider getting married at a resort: Your wedding day can be hectic. Out of town guests usually stay at a hotel, your wedding ceremony is at one place, the reception is at another….it adds up to a lot of extra time spent driving for you and your guests. When you have your wedding at a resort, you are just steps away from the ceremony and reception. You don't have to worry about your guests getting lost or drinking and driving and you have one point of contact for everything. Read more about resort weddings here.
1. Add some of your personality to the day: We've all been to weddings and we know how amazing they can be and also how bland some can be. Don't have a bland wedding! There are so many ways you can add personality to the day! If you have a dog, incorporate them into the ceremony. Write your own vows, use childhood photos or quotes for table numbers, have a sundae bar or a signature drink for your guests. The possibilities are endless! For more fun ideas, check out our Pinterest boards.
In late October, Jessica & Joe were married in a ceremony at Lovely Lane Chapel on St. Simons Island. A reception followed at The King and Prince Beach & Golf Resort. Britt Croft Photography captured beautiful images of their special day. Click here for more real wedding inspiration!
'Tis the season for holiday cheer at The King and Prince! We have several decorated Christmas trees across the resort as well as many other holiday wreaths and decorations for our guests to enjoy. To help our guests get into the holiday spirit, we also offer several programs including cooking demonstrations and a holiday cookie demo! Please visit our website for more information.
The choices when it comes to deciding on a wedding cake are astounding. Your cake can make a statement or be a centerpiece at your reception. Or, perhaps you'd like a cupcake display instead of an actual cake! Here are some of our favorite wedding cakes. We hope they inspire you when you are planning your wedding!
The shabby chic wedding cake. Why we love it: This cake is simple, beautiful and romantic all at the same time!
The Rustic Wedding Cake. Why we love it: This cake proves that imperfections (even on cake) are a beautiful thing.
The Unique Wedding Cake. Why we love it: The great thing about getting married is that you are able to really show off your personality and one of the many ways you can do that is through your wedding cake!
Cupcakes. Why we love it: Cupcakes have evolved over the years to a much more gourmet experience. Serving cupcakes instead of cakes means that your guests can have a wide variety of cakes to try and it is a creative twist on a wedding tradition.
Resort Executive Chef John Palacio was born in Seville, Spain and grew up in Omaha, Nebraska. After high school he joined the U.S. Marines and soon after completing his time in the Marines he signed up for a five-year chef's apprenticeship at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles. Because he was willing to travel to gain experience and advance in his career field, over the past 25+ years he has worked in hotel kitchens in Kansas City, Beverly Hills, Tucson and Chattanooga before moving to St. Simons Island.
He has been married for 22 years to his wife Linda and together they have 3 children; Alexandria, Giovanti & Gulliano who all love to travel.
As a Christmas tradition, the Palacio family starts with everyone helping to make the big Christmas meal for the evening. The kids make pumpkin pie and fresh bread, Linda prepares the vegetables and Chef John makes the entrees. The morning is started with homemade hot chocolate, tamales and Mexican sweet breads. They embrace this time of year to spend time with family and have fun.
In a small pot, add the water, sugar, cinnamon & nutmeg. Bring to a simmer and then add the chocolate. Stir until it dissolves. With the liquid simmering, add the milk and simmer again. Place marshmallows in your favorite mug, pour in the hot chocolate and enjoy!
For more information about Chef John Palacio and for more recipes, visit our website!
Winter can be a magical time for a wedding. Most people associate winter weddings with colors such as white, blue and silver. Our experts recommend adding a pop of color to your reception to liven up the space a bit! Also, try using strands of mini white lights or candles to decorate the space and, if there is a fireplace available to you, use it! Here are some of our favorite ideas for a winter wedding reception.
Add winter elements and color to your bouquet to make it unique.
Use fresh flowers to brighten up the reception space. You can also use crystal for an extra "winter" effect.
Use candles to make the space feel warm, inviting and cozy.
Help your guests get into the winter spirit with a hot chocolate bar.
Have fun when choosing wedding favors! You can give candles, s'mores kits, and our favorite, Christmas ornaments.
Wow your guests with a delicious, winter-inspired wedding cake!
For more information about planning your wedding, visit our website.
Join us this Christmas for a buffet with all of the traditional favorites as well as some delicious coastal cuisine. This year, our Christmas buffet will be from 11am to 7pm on Thursday, December 25th, 2014. Adults are $59 per person, children ages 8-12 are $24 and children 7 & under are complimentary.
The menu includes: assorted salads, a seafood display featuring Carolina oysters, crab legs, shrimp, salmon & tuna. There will also be a carving station with turkey, prime rib & ham as well as all of your favorite Thanksgiving sides. To view the full menu, please visit our website.
First Friday in Downtown Brunswick: Friday, December 5th- Take a stroll down Newcastle Street & Gloucester Street in downtown Brunswick and visit the shops, restaurants and galleries that call the port city home. There will be live music from local musicians, restaurant specials and art openings.
The Cassina Garden Club's 30th Annual Tour of Homes: Saturday, December 6th from 9am to 5pm- The tour will showcase five beautifully decorated Sea Island homes and will also include a bake sale. Proceeds benefit the restoration of the historic tabby cabins on Gascoigne Bluff. Advance tickets are $45. For more information visit the Cassina Garden Club website.
The Pier Village Holiday Market: Saturday, December 13th and Sunday, December 14th- Stroll through the village and enjoy the annual "Holiday Market" from 10am to 5pm. There will be vendors from across the Southeast selling artwork, jewelery, photography, organic teas and much more.The best part is Santa's arrival at the pier by boat at 2:30pm on Saturday, December 13th!
The Small Town Throwdown Featuring Dierks Bentley: Saturday, December 13th 6pm to 11pm- The Wainwright Foundation's inaugural benefit weekend kicks off with a concert featuring country music superstar Dierks Bentley with special guest Thomas Rhett! For more information, visit our website.
Eco Lecture Series at Village Creek Landing: Tuesday,December 16th. Bar opens at 5pm, lecture begins at 6pm- The guest speaker will talk about environmental topics and preserving Georgia's coast. Admission is $10 and space is limited. Please RSVP by visiting their website.
New Year's Eve-Partying with Ease Cooking Demonstration at The King and Prince Beach & Golf Resort, Wednesday, December 17th from 5-8pm- New Year's Eve is coming to the island early this year with one of the most informative and fun culinary 'events' that blends creative party ideas with easy-to-make recipes. In anticipation of one of the biggest party nights of the year when family and friends get together, our chef has planned an interactive demonstration that's as easy as 3-2-1-Party! Visit our website to learn more and to register for the event.
Holiday Cookie Class: Thursday, December 18th from 5-8pm at The King and Prince Beach & Golf Resort- This cookie demonstration features 3 types of cookies, icing, and colorful decorations. Join us for a memorable evening of hands-on participation for adults and children. Sip a specialty holiday cocktail (hot chocolate, milk and other child-friendly beverages also served). Start a new tradition this year and come on over for a cookie bash! Visit our website to learn more and to register for the event.


text:
package com.navercorp.pinpoint.test.javasssit;

import com.navercorp.pinpoint.bootstrap.interceptor.Interceptor;

import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.Collections;
import java.util.List;

/**
 * @author Jongho Moon
 *
 */
public class TestInterceptors {

    private static final List<Interceptor> interceptors = Collections.synchronizedList(new ArrayList<Interceptor>());

    public static void clear() {
        interceptors.clear();
    }

    public static void add(Interceptor interceptor) {
        interceptors.add(interceptor);
    }

    public static Interceptor get(int index) {
        return interceptors.get(index);
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Amazon Picks Up Double Helix, but That Doesn't Tell Us Much About Its Gaming Plans
By Matt Peckham
February 6, 2014 10:22 AM EST
As acquisitions go, 75-person games studio Double Helix seems a fair to middling purchase — a company with a catalog of hits and misses, the misses mostly junk movie tie-ins — but then a company like Amazon has its work cut out (and hung from here to the moon) if it wants to make a splash in the games biz, first-party style. And it's not like anyone can afford Rockstar.
If you've never heard of Double Helix games, you've probably heard of the fighting series it just rejuvenated on Xbox One, Killer Instinct. That's a game that probably has you thinking of Nintendo, specifically the Super Nintendo back in 1994, when the series belonged to developer Rare. Microsoft bought Rare in 2002, nabbing Killer Instinct in the process, but sat on the IP for years before handing it to Double Helix (created in 2007 when a movie/TV game-focused development house merged with Dave Perry's old studio, Shiny Entertainment). Double Helix gave the series a well-received Xbox One-exclusive makeover, so it's making the leap to Amazon, at least from a public standpoint, on a strong note.
No, Killer Instinct doesn't go with Double Helix in the bargain, because it was never Double Helix's IP to leverage (Joystiq reports that Microsoft's about to announce a new development partner for the series). In fact, most of the games credited to Double Helix over the years belong to someone else. Other than Strider, an upcoming side-scroller for last- and next-gen platforms co-developed with Capcom, and a vampire-hunting game that's been in limbo for half a decade, I'm seeing nada. Like any creative outfit, the studio doubtless has conceptual stuff kicking around, but it's anyone's guess what might have been impressive or interesting enough, from talent to content, for Amazon to pull the trigger on a buy.
Amazon's not saying much, telling TechCrunch (blankly) that it "acquired Double Helix as part of our ongoing commitment to build innovative games for customers." If that reads like a confession — that Amazon just copped to designing video games — don't get too excited: it's had a games studio wing for awhile now, though its only studio-listed title is a tower defense puzzler for iOS and Android.
If Amazon is building some sort of games console that's more than another set-top proxy for a slew of casual shmups, platformers, puzzlers, tower defense games and so forth, seeding Amazon-owned talent could be a positive move. After all, content is king, and if you really want to own it, you have to cultivate it. The question is what Jeff Bezos (or whoever he's listening to — Bezos himself sounds almost dismissive of gaming) wants to be to the games market. A Nintendo-esque, risk-taking, soup-to-nuts innovator? A safe, mainstream, triple-A workhorse? A bit player dishing up relatively cheap, low profile, platform-adjunct games content, Apple- or Roku-style? All of the above?
This Double Helix purchase's import is opaque, potential-wise. It's not enough to highlight the studio's roots and say "Hey, Earthworm Jim!" You have to look at what the studio's done as the studio it is now, and that means scrutinizing games like G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra and Battleship and Green Lantern: Rise of the Manhunters — not awful, but not exactly frame-on-your-office-wall boast-worthy, either. If Amazon's going to throw down with established players — and that's still a monumental if — it needs something to boast about. And what that might be may still be a mystery to the company, too.
Write to Matt Peckham at matt.peckham@time.com.
Amazon Prime Price Hike Could Be a Major Mistake


I absolutely love Beauty Bay, it's definitely my go to online destination for upcoming and popular beauty releases, they have everything and all the brands you've always wanted to try and so when I heard the goss that they were coming out with 3 of their own eyeshadow palettes, I was absolutely buzzing.
I seriously have an addiction to eyeshadow palettes and I've accumulated one too many over the years but I do think to myself that makeup really is my biggest passion in life so I'm proud of my collection and this Identity palette is no exception.
Out of the three palettes, I went with the Identity palette as it has brighter colours so it's more up my street. It consists of 42 highly pigmented eyeshadows, from a range of mattes, metallics and duo chromes that have a buttery, easy to blend finish and the claim is so right - I am so impressed I can't even explain how much I love this palette.
For a solid £25 price point you really can't go wrong either, it also comes with a huge mirror on the inside which is a good sturdy mirror too - not one of the ones that bends and makes you look like you're in a crazy house lol.
I mean... just look at these swatches!
If you'd like to check out the beauty bay palette, check it out here!